After the first three quarterfinals all got underway on Tuesday, Eisbären Berlin hosted ZSC Lions Zurich in Wednesday’s only Champions Hockey League game. The result of the game – a 4-3 Zurich victory – is not much of a surprise but the way it played out was interesting.

Everything went right for the “Polar Bears” in the first 25 minutes of the game, as the German champs built up a 3-0 lead against the Swiss champs. However, the Lions came back to win 4-3, meaning they’ll take a one-goal lead into the return leg, which will be on their home ice two weeks from now.

“We had to really dig down tonight for that extra effort,” said Zurich head coach Marc Crawford. “You’ve gotta give a lot of credit to our players. They didn’t get rattled and they were able to stay with what we’ve been doing.”

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Zach Boychuk scored the lone goal of the first period and then Gabriel Fontaine and Lean Bergmann gave Berlin a 3-0 lead against a Zurich team that had only lost once in its first eight CHL games this season and was looking like one of the favorites to win it all.

Then the comeback started. A turnover at the blueline led to an odd-man rush with Derek Grant finishing off a nice passing play, and then Sven Andrighetto on the power play brought Zurich to within one by the end of the second.

In the third, both Zurich goals were reviewed but both stood. Dean Kukan’s equalizer hit a Berlin glove – not a Zurich high stick – before it went into the net, and the go-ahead marker with four minutes left deflected in off Jesper Frödén, rather than with a kicking motion.

Berlin was given a late power play and nearly tied it back up but Czech goalie Šimon Hrubec made a great glove save with 20 seconds to play to preserve the aggregate lead.

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Andrighetto, Denis Malgin and Juho Lammikko had three points each for Zurich, as did Fontaine and Bergmann for Berlin. Andrighetto, the former Montreal Canadien and Colorado Avalanche, regains the CHL scoring lead with 15 points, followed by Malgin and Berlin’s Leo Pföderl with 14.

Zurich is one of two teams that will take a one-goal lead into its return leg on home ice – the other being the Växjö Lakers. Red Bull Salzburg and Genève-Servette both have bigger leads but will be playing on the road.

Return legs on Tuesday, Dec. 17:
Växjö Lakers (SWE) 2 – Sparta Prague (CZE) 1
Färjestad Karlstad (SWE) 1 – Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) 3
Pinguins Bremerhaven (GER) 0 – Genève-Servette (SUI) 4
ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI) 4 – Eisbären Berlin (GER) 3