An absolutely thrilling game in Salzburg saw the lead change hands several times before Red Bull Salzburg booked their place among the last 16 thanks to a dramatic late show over Grizzlys Wolfsburg.
The Red Bulls outshot Wolfsburg 54-29 but found visiting goalie Jerry Kuhn in inspired form as he made 50 saves on the night. Brant Harris gave the home side the lead early on – the Red Bulls’ Top Scorer was given far too much space in the slot to fire home low with 3:58 played. Wolfsburg, though, hit straight back, with Christoph Hoehenleitner finishing the 2-on-1 at the back post to tie it up 42 seconds later. But the Red Bulls weren’t done and re-took the lead before the period was out. This time Peter Muller the scorer just under five minutes before the break.
The middle session saw the Red Bulls simply come up against the wall of Kuhn, as time and again he denied the home side when it seemed like they would extend their lead.
Owing it to their goalie, the Grizzlys came out for the final period on the front foot. Tyler Haskins got them the equalizing goal with only 1:33 played, beating Luka Gracnar from a questionable angle to level things up. Just over three minutes later the turnaround was completed – an unfortunate too many men call on Salzburg and some neat passing from the Grizzlys saw Gerrit Fauser shoot home low from the edge of the circle to put his side 3-2 up. Then it was the Red Bulls’ turn to go in search of the tying goal, becoming more desperate as the clock ran down but still coming up against a defiant Kuhn. Wolfsburg’s resistance was eventually broken with just 2:58 showing on the clock – the puck breaking kindly to Tommy Raffl in the slot to level the scores.
If that wasn’t enough drama then more would follow. With most of the 2,301 crowd probably sensing overtime, Ryan Duncan found space in the slot to beat Kuhn low with 1:15 left on the clock and send the home fans wild. The Grizzlys called a timeout, Salzburg called one as well, but there would be no more goals despite Kuhn being pulled. Red Bull Salzburg held on for the 4-3 win to make them the only Austrian team in the Round of 16.