Following a huge win by Frölunda Gothenburg in their Round of 16 First Game, the Swedes entered the arena with a commanding four-goal lead on aggregate against the Straubing Tigers.

Veteran forward and top scorer Ryan Lasch opened up the scoring for the Swedes at 13:34 in the first period, wiring a wrist shot past American netminder Hunter Miska. Straubing would equalise 1-1 at 15:33 courtesy of Brandon Manning who ripped a slapshot from the top of the circle to beat 21-year-old netminder Frederik Dichow.

The second period saw tensions rise and a spate of penalties to both teams follow. Frölunda defenceman Andreas Borgman was ejected from the game on account of checking to the head or neck. The Germans made the most of the man-advantage with Marcel Brandt delivering goal number two of the night, making it 2-1, much to the pleasure of the roaring crowd.

Frölunda had their third powerplay of the evening after Mario Zimmermann was sent to the bin for slashing, but a turnover in the defensive zone of the Swedes would see a near miss on Dichow after top scorer Taylor Leier rifled a shot in at close range.

Forward Patrik Carlsson made it 2-2 for the visitors thanks to a redirected slapshot blasted in. Straubing nearly had a third goal moments later, but the outstretched limbs of Dichow kept the puck clear of the line.

With tensions rising and scuffles breaking out over the ice, two more penalties were awarded to Frölunda, and a single to Straubing, allowing the hosts another chance to edge closer to closing the aggregate gap.

The third period kicked off with the team from Gothenburg successfully killing off the penalty, but goals were not coming easy for Straubing. With the clock ticking down and both sides trading blows, Straubing would be looking for opportunties to pull their goalie to cut down the four-goal deficit.

A tripping call on Frölunda's Anthony Greco was another lifeline for Straubing, but their efforts on the powerplay went entirely unrewarded. The puck cleared by Dichow on the powerplay sailed down the ice and into the empty net.

It went from bad to worse for Straubing who had to kill a five-minute penalty with less than three minutes left on the clock. The penalty ended Stephan Daschner's game prematurely, leaving his side to finish the game short-handed, and with no chance to claw back the match, the final horn would sound in favour of the visiting side.

The DEL side, who had a tremendous run in their first CHL season, may be bowing out in the Round of 16, but challening the best performing team in CHL history was always going to be a tough task. The 3-2 win for Frölunda, gives the Swedes a final aggregate score of 7-2, and most importantly a ticket to the CHL Quarter-Finals.