Game Summary
At the beginning, it seemed as if both teams were still sizing each other up. But then the action suddenly came thick and fast. The Red Bulls took an early two-goal lead. Florian Baltram was on hand to poke the puck past Rasmus Tirronen and into the net after a shot by Mario Huber (7th minute). Less than a minute later, Lukas Schreier delivered a perfect pass to Lukas Hörl, who fired a one-timer into the goal (8th minute). The response was immediate. In the same minute (8th minute), Travis Barron converted a cross-ice pass right in front of Salzburg's goalie David Kickert, making it 2-1 for the visitors. The game continued to be end-to-end, with chances for both sides. However, the Red Bulls were slightly more aggressive, and Brandon Coe scored from the left face-off circle to give them a 3-1 lead at the intermission (18th minute).`
The visitors started the second period with a barrage of dangerous shots. Kickert made some brilliant saves and showcased his skills during the first penalty kill. The Red Bulls then fought their way back into the game and extended their lead once again. Benjamin Nissner deflected Peter Schneider's shot amidst a lot of traffic in front of the net, giving goalie Tirronen no chance (32nd minute). This revitalized the Salzburg offense, and they did so effectively. Michael Raffl provided excellent setup work before Travis St Denis fired a backhand shot from a sharp angle under the crossbar (36th minute). The final minutes became somewhat heated, but the Red Bulls now controlled the game and took a 5-1 lead into the second intermission.
In the final period, Linz tried to intensify their attack once more, keeping the tension high. However, the Red Bulls' defense was rock solid, allowing hardly any further significant shots. And they remained aggressive on offense. In the 51st minute, Linz were fortunate when a skater cleared the puck off the goal line behind goaltender Martin Reder, who had replaced Rasmus Tirronen in the 36th minute. The Red Bulls had a few more good scoring opportunities but failed to add to their tally in the final period,
