A resilient first period by the home side, which saw them kill off two penalties, really proved to be pivotal in overturning some early momentum after Kärpät Oulu dominated for long spells despite being outshot. Red Bull Salzburg were rewarded for their efforts when Brant Harris put home the opening goal of the game at 21:29. However, it was defenceman Robert Raymond who orchestrated the move after outmanoeuvring his way past a sliding Kärpät player.

The Austrians weren’t messing around in this fixture, going on to double their lead as Harris made a habit out of being in the right place, tucking a loose puck home at 41:53. An attempted clear by Stephen Michalek, who abandoned his crease to prevent a breakaway, fell to an unintended target in Nicklas Lasu, who returned the favour by punishing the netminder. The goal gave some much-needed inspiration to the Finnish team, who found themselves level six minutes later when Jyri Junnila fired a shot top-corner at 49:33.

There was one more twist in the tale of this game, which came with just 23 seconds left on the clock when Salzburg forward John Hughes skated into a pass in the attacking zone. While not appearing to have the puck completely under control, he managed to turn the last defenceman in his path before slotting his shot over the shoulder of Veini Vehviläinen.