Course of the game
Munich set the pace in the opening period, Strauss Mann in the Panther goal was challenged early on. His counterpart Mathias Niederberger rarely had to intervene at first. That changed when the visitors sent their powerplay units onto the ice from the ninth minute - but the post and Niederberger's brilliant save prevented the AEV from taking the lead. Alexander Oblinger got it a little later with a hard direct shot (11'). The game then went back and forth before the Red Bulls pressed for the equalizer in the final minutes of the third period. But they failed to score.
Munich continued to search for a gap in the AEV defense in the middle period - with success in the 30th minute: Rieder made it 1:1 in the power play. It was the prelude to eventful minutes with top chances on both sides. Donald D.J. Busdeker capitalized on one of them to give Augsburg the lead again (31'). The Red Bulls quickly shook off the renewed deficit and switched straight into forward gear. The Panthers were now shaky, but the crossbar stood in the way of Maximilian Kastner's equalizer (34'). In the 38th minute, Eisenschmid aimed more accurately in another power play - 2:2. As the crossbar saved for Panther goalkeeper Mann again shortly afterwards, the teams went into the second break tied.
The Red Bulls shifted up several gears in the final period. The result was more high-caliber goals. Including the next crossbar goal by Yasin Ehliz (44'). Mann saved his team from conceding a third goal several times during a period of pressure lasting several minutes in Munich. There was little to see of the Panthers' offense up to that point - and yet the visitors were celebrating in the 52nd minute after Busdeker's second goal. Munich tried everything after that, but the visitors' goal was nailed shut. At the other end, Riley Damiani sealed the Red Bulls' defeat with the 2:4 in AEV overtime (57').