Newcomer HC Innsbruck withstood a tough test against Swiss side Genève-Servette to claim a 5-2 victory in their Champions Hockey League debut. Evan Buitenhuis's 43 saves helped propel his club into the win column as Kevin Roy had two goals and Corey Mackin compiled a goal and an assist. 

Genève were ready when the puck dropped, netting two goals in quick succession. Arnaud Jacquemet started things off with a redirection in front, and Vincent Praplan cashed in a minute later when a slick feed found him at the top of the crease where he slid the puck past Buitenhuis.

The Swiss went on to dominate the rest of the period, suffocating the Austrians and pelting Buitenhuis with shot attempts. After 20 minutes, it was Genève leading in shots on goal by a margin of 14-3.

Although they were heavily outplayed in the opening stanza, Innsbruck were not to be denied and managed to cut the Swiss' lead in half at 27:04 with a goal from Lukas Bär. Daniel Jakubitzka's lead pass found Bär who skated through the left circle and fired a shot near side to beat Robert Mayer.

The Austrians continued to mount momentum with their second tally five minutes later. Roy received a behind-the-net feed from Senna Peeters who skated into the zone, wrapped around the net and slid a pass that Roy then guided into the yawning cage.

Innsbruck took their first lead of the night when they converted on a 5-on-3 man-advantage in the dying minutes of the second. Mayer made the initial save off a shot from Mackin but Braeden Shaw was right there to snap home the rebound to make it a 3-2 contest.

Third-period play began with the Swiss challengers continuing their onslaught in the offensive zone, but Buitenhuis played spectacularly denying every chance.

In a last-ditch effort, Genève pulled their netminder in favour of the extra attacker, but Innsbruck took the opportunity to seal the game with two empty-net goals. Mackin potted the first and then Roy registered his second. In what seemed like a foregone conclusion after the Swiss managed to score twice in under three minutes, became an upset that saw the hosts take their first CHL game in their first CHL appearance.