Skellefteå AIK lost to Malmö Redhawks after a controversial decision by the referees, who waved away a match penalty for Malmö forward Thomas Berg Paulsen after he hit Jonathan Pudas in the head.

Less than a minute had passed before Malmö Redhawks broke the deadlock on Tuesday night. The opening goal also set the tone for the rest of the game, as AIK struggled to create good chances, and despite, as usual, producing more shots than their opponents, the Västerbotten side had few quality scoring chances.

Malmö continued to build on their lead in the second period, putting AIK in a difficult position going into the third.

However, AIK seemed to have a golden opportunity to come back into the game in the third period when Thomas Berg Paulsen tackled Jonathan Pudas long after the whistle and hit the AIK captain in the head. However, after a video review, the referees decided to rescind the penalty, a decision that left AIK furious with the officials. The match then ebbed away to a comfortable Malmö win.

MATCH FACTS

Malmö Redhawks – Skellefteå AIK 3–0 (1–0, 1–0, 1–0)

Goals: 1–0 (00.52) Fredrik Händemark (Kuokkanen, Ryan), five play four, 2–0 (25.22) Janne Kuokkanen (Pajuniemi, Ollas Mattsson), 3–0 (55.52) Joakim Ryan (Kuokkanen, Marmenlind), five play four.

Shots: 21–25 (6–9, 5–8, 10–8).