It was a goal-fest for the Växjö Lakers who put five past Pinguins Bremerhaven while also keeping the Germans off the scoresheet. Richard Gynge scored a hat-trick as the home team outshot the visitors 44 to 20 and Adam Åhman got a shutout on his Champions Hockey League debut.
There was no time to waste in Sweden, as Växjö gained an early lead thanks to Richard Gynge whose shot on the powerplay picked up a big deflection in the crease and caught Bremerhaven goalie Maximilian Franzreb by surprise.
At 5:49, Glenn Gustafsson doubled the home team’s lead with a lovely one-timer from close range. Växjö kept up the pressure, playing high up the ice and picking up each and every one of the DEL side’s mistakes
Captain Erik Josefsson scored Växjö’s third five minutes before the end of the period after a lovely combination in front of the away team’s net. It could easily have been 5-0 after the first 20 minutes as Franzreb pulled off some big saves from the shots that just kept on coming at him.
Växjö picked up right where they left off in the second period, peppering the Bremerhaven net with shot after shot. The German side had a few chances on net five minutes in, as Dominik Uher’s forward rush forced a penalty from Växjö’s Olle Lycksell.
Bremerhaven racked up a few solid shots on the powerplay but Adam Åhman stood his ground between the posts.
Richard Gynge added his second of the night after picking up the puck just outside the crease and firing it in without hesitation to round out the second period action.
Bremerhaven enjoyed a powerplay midway through the final period but were still unable to break down the Växjö defence to open their scoring on the night.
Nine minutes in, Gynge nearly added his third as he sprinted for the Bremerhaven net after receiving the puck in the centre of the ice, but Franzreb had the situation under control.
A few minutes later he got a great pass from across the ice and sprinted for the net again. This time he fired it in, completing his hat-trick and upping the final scoreline to 5-0.