The first period of this highly anticipated Champions Hockey League game between Adler Mannheim and the Växjö Lakers took some time to get going with a slower first period featuring mostly missed shots. However, after a cagey 20 minutes of game time, Mannheim came out flying for the second with a renewed sense of urgency.

The Germans hemmed Växjö in their own zone until Matthias Plachta took advantage of the powerplay just one minute into the second period and netted their first goal that finally opened the scoring. Before Växjö could catch their breath, another puck went in as Mannheim’s John Gilmour doubled the lead just a single minute later.

Nevertheless, Växjö swiftly crashed the celebration party, striking back three minutes later to cut the deficit. After Mannheim’s Tom Kühnhackl was called for holding, Växjö’s Denis Rasmussen used the man advantage and found the back of the net scoring them their first goal of the season. As the second frame came to its close the score remained unchanged.

In all, Växjö’s goaltender Adam Åhman showed incredible skill carrying out some huge saves throughout the game, keeping the team in contention until Växjö pulled out their goalie in a desperate attempt to level the score, allowing Justin Schütz to seal Mannheim’s victory with an empty-net goal just before the final buzzer.