AIK took it 4-2 in Vimmerby, and the middle period settled it. Three AIK goals in a 10-minute stretch of the second turned a one-goal lead into a 1-4 margin the home side never closed.
AIK opened at 8 minutes and carried a 0-1 lead to the first intermission. The second period was the whole game: AIK made it 0-2 at 25, Max Karlsson answered at 27, and AIK restored the cushion at 29 before William Pethrus, from Daniel Ljungman, made it 1-4 at 35. Hugo Lejon, assisted by Johan Mornsjo, pulled one back at 39 for 2-4.
The scoreless third — 0-0 on the period sheet — is the number that tells the story: Vimmerby got the game to within two with 21 minutes left and never got closer. All six goals in this one came inside the first 39 minutes.