On Tuesday night, the Champions Hockey League dropped the puck in Lugano, a Swiss alpine city on the border with Italy, as defending CHL Champions JYP Jyväskylä came to town needing only a win to secure their spot in the playoff round. Home team HC Lugano would need a big result to keep their hopes of advancing along with group winners HC Pilsen alive.

A furious first period saw 26 total shots with JYP getting off to a flying start on a chance from the slot that rang off the crossbar, leaving some players thinking it had gone in the net. That was followed quickly by Lugano forward and Canadian Olympian, Maxime Lapierre, being denied on the doorstep by JYP netminder Eetu Laurikainen. After the teams traded chances, Gregory Hofmann opened the scoring for Lugano at 8:34 in the first period with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that handcuffed Laurikainen. The puck was ripped over the goalie’s glove and hit the netting just inside the post, to the delight of the home fans.

The best chance of a scoreless second period went to Jarkko Immonen. The 36-year-old veteran was sent in alone but Lugano netminder Elvis Merzlikins got down quickly to close the five-hole and deny the breakaway chance. The two goalies stayed solid against quality chances to keep the game tight.

Lugano Head Coach Gregg Ireland was animated between whistles emphasizing short shifts and line matches to his players in an effort to maintain their one-goal advantage. His strategy worked as Hofmann dove down from the top of the slot, exploiting a tired and loose defensive unit, and calmly finished off a slick passing play. The primary assist went to Lapierre for the no-look drop pass to Hofmann.

Lugano’s top line put forth a stellar effort and Merzlikins held steady between the pipes and slammed the door shut late, making 28 saves for the shutout to force a winner-take-all rematch on Gameday 6 at LähiTapiola Areena in Jyväskylä, Finland.