It was a dominant start for the Straubing Tigers, and despite the best efforts of Comarch Cracovia, the Polish rivals couldn't pull a win on the road, going down 3-2 to the Germans. 

Straubing secured an early lead courtesy of Parker Tuomie who netted his first goal of the season against Cracovia's netminder Rok Stojanovic. A flurry of shots saw the puck reach the blade of Tuomie who rifled the puck high.

The sea of blue and white fans got even louder when the Germans extended their lead to 2-0. More commotion on the doorstep of Stojanovic saw a rolling puck pushed over the goal line by Canadian forward JC Lipon. The hosts were dominant, outshooting the Polish side 17-3 during the first period. Cracovia struggled to find their rhythm, with just three attempts on Hunter Miska.

The visitors had a great chance to get on the scoreboard in the second period after Taylor Leier took a minor penalty, but their best attempts were absorbed by Miska. Four more minutes of powerplay action would come to the Poles but they were unable to convert. 

Straubing got their fair share of man-advantage action, with a duo of powerplays coming their way. The Germans shuffled the puck strategically but had no luck finding the back of the net. With even strength play resuming, Stojanovic was phenomenal, robbing the German side again and again.

At 38:17 Saku Kinnunen got Cracovia on the board with a wristshot sent in from the blueline. The goal touched by Matias Sointu cut the hosts' lead in half before the sides retreated to their locker rooms for the period intermission.  

The linesmen were kept busy with scuffles periodically breaking out during the third period. In a tragic stroke of bad luck, a shot from Leier hit the mask of Stojanovic, followed by the glove of Roman Rác to tumble into the net extending the lead for Straubing 3-1. 

Štěpán Csamango nearly got one back for Cracovia when he deked his way into the crease of Miska, but the sprawling netminder denied him. With 4:39 left on the clock Roman Rác managed to steal the puck from behind the net, and his tip to top-scorer Martin Kasperlík reduced the deficit, but it wouldn't be enough to equalise. 

The dying minutes of the period saw the Straubing Tigers hold their lead down to the sound of the final horn. The 3-2 victory gives the German side six points and the second place in Group F.