The Västgötans have played seven straight SM finals and have taken four gold medals during these years, including two in a row. It did not seem that the former top club Boltic cared about it in their return to the elite series after 14 years of absence.
Gustav Backman scored 1–0 in the 13th minute on a corner and eleven minutes later Lucas Hovlund extended it to 2–0 in front of 1,188 spectators. Record audience since Tingvalla ice stadium was converted into an indoor arena, reports local Nya Wermlands-Tidningen.
Admittedly, Villa turned it around to a 3–2 lead before the break, but directly in the second act Backman equalized to 3–3. After just over an hour, he completed his hat-trick when he scored 4–3 on a penalty.
Villa's goal king Christoffer Edlund also became a three-goal scorer when he equalized to 4–4, but Andreas Eriksson put the Karlstad team in the lead with his 5–4 goal. It was enough for a point after William Arvidsson confirmed the final result to 5–5 in the 83rd minute.
