Vaxjo Lakers HC won 7-5 in regulation, holding off an HV71 comeback that erased a two-goal deficit inside the final ten minutes. Jimi Suomi's second of the night at 59 broke a 5-5 tie, and Vaxjo added an empty-side finish at 60 for the 7-5 final.
Vaxjo took the first period 3-1, with Olivier Nadeau opening at 3, Lucas Elvenes restoring the lead at 8 after Lukas Rousek's equalizer, and Joel Persson making it 3-1 at 20. HV71 edged the middle frame 2-1 to trail 4-3 after 40, then Pavol Regenda scored at 52 and 55 to level at 5-5 before Suomi's winner at 59.
Regenda finished with three goals and an assist on Rousek's first-period strike, the best individual line of the night on the losing side. Elvenes scored twice, both assisted by Dennis Rasmussen, and Suomi's two goals -- at 35 and 59 -- were the difference in a game decided in the last minutes of the third.