ICE teams start CHL season

The Salzburg side flies to Oslo today (Thursday) and plays against Frisk Asker on Friday (18:00, ORF Sport+ Livestream). The game at last season's Norwegian regular season winners will be the Red Bulls' first CHL appearance after a two-year break. Head coach Matt McIlvane's team continues on Sunday in Poland at JKH GKS Jastrzębie (17:30, ORF Sport+). Forward Peter Schneider is looking forward to the opener with excitement: "The CHL is always a cool experience and we are really looking forward to the trip. I have already played against Frisk Asker twice. They work very hard and also play very structured defensively. We want to implement our game and not look so much at what the opponent is doing." Not present are Lucas Thaler and Dominique Heinrich.

HCB Südtirol Alperia does the "reverse" programme in Group H. In their third CHL participation, the Foxes start away against Jastrzębie. Patrik Nechvátal, a 29-year-old Czech, played for several years in the league with Znojmo and Innsbruck. Last year he was instrumental in the Poles' first title win. After the game, the Bolzano side travels on to Norway, where the match against Frisk Asker is on the agenda on Sunday. "Both opponents are new territory for us. But we know that we must by no means underestimate them," warns assistant coach Fabio Armani, "they are two big challenges with two different interpretations of hockey."

KAC starts with home double
The EC-KAC prepared for their first Champions Hockey League opener on Friday at home against the Rouen Dragons (20:20, ORF Sport+) with an intensive morning - video study of the opponent, off-ice training and a 55-minute session on the ice - on Thursday. The Carinthians' record so far against teams from France is a very positive one, winning nine out of ten games. "Rouen is a new opponent that you don't know much about, so that's exciting and a challenge. It's not a league game, but it's still an important game for us. I'm also looking forward to playing in front of fans for the first time since I moved to Klagenfurt. So far, I've only known the Stadthalle with the crowd as an opponent from my time in Dornbirn. Our whole team is looking forward to tomorrow's match with anticipation," said Matt Fraser about the CHL opener. On Sunday, the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League champions continue in the Champions League with a home game against Rungsted Seier Capital from Denmark (20:20, ORF Sport+).

ICE teams in the Champions Hockey League:
Fri, 03.09.2021, 18:00: Frisk Asker (DEN) - EC Red Bull Salzburg | ORF Sport+ Livestream
Fri, 03.09.2021, 18:00: JKH GKS Jastrzębie (POL) - HCB Südtirol Alperia | Livestream on the CHL channels (HP/App)
Fri, 03.09.2021, 20:20: EC-KAC - Rouen Dragons (FRA) | ORF Sport+

Sun, 05.09.2021, 16:00: Frisk Asker (DEN) - HCB Südtirol Alperia | Livestream on the CHL channels (HP/App)
Sun, 05.09.2021, 17:30: JKH GKS Jastrzębie (POL) - EC Red Bull Salzburg | ORF Sport+
Sun, 05.09.2021, 20:20: EC-KAC - Rungsted Seier Capital (DEN) | ORF Sport+

Eight teams play test matches
Eight teams of the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League will also play preseason games this weekend. While the spusu Vienna Capitals will play a "DEL double" against Ingolstadt and Straubing, the Steinbach Black Wings Linz will test twice against HC Motor České Budějovice from the Czech Republic. The Dornbirn Bulldogs and HC TIWAG Innsbruck are also in action twice. The Suikkanen team will first play against the EVZ Academy from Switzerland, followed by EV Landshut at the Messestadion on Sunday. Two days earlier, the DEL2 team will be guests in Innsbruck, and on Sunday, the Tyroleans will face HC Pustertal in a league internal test.

While the iClinic Bratislava Capitals host HC Košice, the Moser Medical Graz99ers also test against a Slovak team - HC Nové Zámky. Furthermore, Hydro Fehérvár AV19 will play against Miskolc in an Hungarian meeting.

Preseason, bet-at-home ICE Hockey League:
Fri, 03.09.2021, 17:30: HC Nové Zámky - Moser Medical Graz99ers
Fri, 03.09.2021, 18:00: iClinic Bratislava Capitals - HC Košice
Fri, 03.09.2021, 18:30: EVZ Academy - Dornbirn Bulldogs
Fri, 03.09.2021, 19:15: Steinbach Black Wings Linz - HC Motor České Budějovice
Fri, 03.09.2021, 19:15: HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie - EV Landshut
Sat, 04.09.2021, 18:00: DVTK Jegesmedvek Miskolce - Hydro Fehérvár AV19
Sat, 04.09.2021, 19:00: ERC Ingolstadt - spusu Vienna Capitals
Sun, 05.09.2021, 16:30: Straubing Tigers - spusu Vienna Capitals
Sun, 05.09.2021, 17:00: HC Motor České Budějovice - Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Sun, 05.09.2021, 18:00: HC Pustertal - HC TIWAG Innsbruck - The Sharks
Sun, 05.09.2021, 19:15: Dornbirn Bulldogs - EV Landshut