The opening period saw both IFK Helsinki and the ZSC Lions Zurich come out of the gate flying. After an ill-tempered first battle, both sides appeared to be considerably more restrained. Puck possession was relatively even between the teams, and net-front real estate was sparse with most shots coming from the perimeter.

Two almost simultaneous penalties, one by Zurich's Ryan Hayes, and the other by Helsinki's Teemu Tallberg resulted in a 4-on-4. Shortly after, Helsinki's second powerplay of the game was cut short, and a second 4-on-4 ensued. Zurich capitalised on their third powerplay thanks to a minor penalty by forward Miro Väänänen. Dominik Diem collected his first goal of the season, blasting the puck top-left, and giving the visitors a 1-0 lead going into the second period.

The second stanza commenced with yet another 4-on-4, and powerplay for the Finnish side, but netminder Lukas Flüeler wasn't leaving any open net. The ZSC Lions had their own share of powerplay oportunities, after defenceman Miro Karajalainen took a two-minute penalty for cross-checking, but netminder Michael Garteig was outstanding between the pipes, denying the Swiss visitors any chance of further extending their lead. Two penalties late in the period by Zurich provided four more minutes of the man-advantage for the Finnish side, but they had no luck finding the back of the net. 

The frustration felt by the Finnish side was evident after several near misses, and their overall lack of luck despite six powerplays. Halfway into the period, Zurich extended their lead 2-0 thanks to forward Justin Sigrist who backhanded the puck past the netminder after a turnover off an errant pass. With six minutes remaining the Finnish side pressed hard to cut the deficit, and pulled their goalie with 2:39 left on the clock, but it wasn't to be. The win marks netminder Lukas Flüeler's first shutout of the season, ZSC's first win on the road, and two vital Group Stage points.