In this all-Swedish clash, Skellefteå AIK game out the gates the stronger of the two teams. Djurgården Stockholm struggled to keep up with the home side’s forecheck, and some costly defensive errors really put Djurgården behind the eight ball in the early going. With just 85 seconds on the clock, Skellefteå took the lead. Robin Alvarez worked the puck into the right corner, before passing along the half boards to Jonathan Pudas, whose one timer found its way past Niklas Svedberg in the Djurgården net. Four minutes later, and the home side doubled their advantage. Jacob Olofsson benefitted from a horrendous giveaway, and went in alone on Svedberg, finding the top corner. However, Djurgården needed just 23 seconds to half the deficit. Mantas Armalis, playing in his first CHL game of the season in the Skellefteå net, couldn’t clear the puck from the zone, and Djurgården pounced on the turnover, with Henrik Eriksson beating the Lithuanian netminder. The teams traded powerplay opportunities in the latter minutes of the first period, but both were unable to find the back of the net on the man advantage.

The shots on goal after the first period were 12-11 in Skellefteå’s but it would be the team from Stockholm who made their mark early in the second period. Top Scoring defenceman Olle Alsing continued his rich vein of form by being the architect of the game tying goal. His stretch pass was right on the tape of Mattias Guter, who broke in all alone on goal. Armalis made a fantastic first save, but Guter managed to gather the rebound and beat the Lithuanian goalie to bring his side level. Despite this, Skellefteå continued to dominate puck possession and shot opportunities, eventually this pressure would pay dividends. Jesper Frödén worked the puck into the zone, and he eventually found Adam Pettersson streaking down the left wing. Pettersson had all the time and space in the world to reach the left-wing circle and fire a wicked wristshot past Svedberg to make the score 3-2 in Skellefteå’s favour.

The third period was somewhat bereft of action. Djurgården would have an early powerplay chance, but failed to convert. However, almost midway through the final frame, the Stockholm side would equalise in bizarre circumstances. Skellefteå pulled their netminder as they received a delayed powerplay. However, as the forward attempted to pass around the back of the net, the puck ended up going all the way into the Skellefteå net! The Djurgården netminder Niklas Svedberg would eventually get credit for the goal! That would turn out to be the final goal of the game, as both sides finished honours even after the first leg. It is truly all to play for next week in Stockholm!