The Växjö Lakers fended off a late Red Bull Salzburg push to secure a dominant 6-3 victory in front of their home fans in the Vida Arena. The Swedes had a great start to the game, going 5-0 up by the midway point of the match-up.

Växjö’ Eemeli Suomi drew first blood seven minutes into the opening frame, staking his team to an early 1-0 advantage. Jimi Suomi then doubled the lead midway through the period, firing home another goal to cap off a dominant start for the Swedes. It seemed Växjö’s players just couldn’t be stopped after Hugo Gustafsson found the back of the net, making it 3-0 before the end of the first 20 minutes of game time.

Växjö continued their relentless onslaught early in the middle frame, as Dennis Rasmussen converted on the powerplay to increase the lead to 4-0. A few minutes later, Eemeli Suomi scored his second of the game and extended the lead to a commanding 5-0. This finally pushed Salzburg beyond limits. They broke through past the halfway mark of the game when Dennis Eamon Robertson cut the deficit to 5-1, sparking hope for the visiting team.

In the beginning minutes of the final frame, the tide shifted toward Salzburg. One minute in, Salzburg’s Benjamin Nissner scored their second of the game. Shortly after that, the Austrians struck again thanks to Nicholas Poisson, reducing the Swedes’ lead even further.

Eager to push even further, Salzburg pulled their goalie late into the game and that gave Lucas Elvenes the perfect opportunity to end the push at 6-3.