Eisbären Berlin bounced back from being down two to secure a two-goal aggregate advantage over KooKoo Kouvola with a 5-3 final in the First Game of this Round of 16 series between the Germans and the Finns. 

Kouvola broke through first when Axel Holmström deposited the puck into the net from out in front to make it 1-0 at 13:57. Jack LaFontaine made the initial save off of a Robert Rooba shot, but Holmström was right there to shovel home the rebound on the backhand and register his first of the campaign.

Then in the second, it was the Finns securing their second when Ari Gröndahl skated into a pass and wired it in two minutes in. The defenceman found some space at the blueline and and delivered a seeing-eye shot that went through traffic and past LaFontaine.

But then the Germans had their turn to light the lamp as they secured three consecutive tallies before the horn sounded on the middle stanza.

The first came courtesy of Liam Kirk who found twine 46 seconds after Gröndahl's marker. A smart keep-in allowed play to continue in Berlin's O-zone as a loose puck eventually founds its way to the far side of the cage where Kirk brought it to his forehand and slid it in.

Berlin continued their comeback when Kirk notched his second of the night. Kai Wissmann slid one towards the net which forward aptly redirected into the back of the cage. Moments later, Adam Smith gave the visitors their first lead of the night with an epic back-hander from point-blank range.

The Germans continued capitalising in the final frame and this time, it was Yannick Veilleux lasering a one-timer near side to extend his team's lead to two goals. 

Kouvola finally answered with one from Rooba at 54:56. The forward sashayed his way around one defender after exiting the neutral zone and posted it top shelf far side to reduce the deficit to one goal with a little under five minutes to play in regulation.

But the Germans' Markus Vikingstad found a quick answer with a redirection in front to make it 5-3. That's where the score would stay despite the Finns' best efforts to close the gap, as the First Game between these two clubs would go to Berlin who take a narrow lead back to Germany.