Release from 31.08.2022

ICE teams start into new CHL season

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The group stage of the best 32 European teams in the 2022/23 Champions Hockey League begins on Thursday. With champions EC Red Bull Salzburg, Hydro Fehérvár AV19, EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV and HK SŽ Olimpija, the four representatives of the win2day ICE Hockey League are each in action twice in the coming days.

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Six games are scheduled in the group phase, with the top two teams then advancing to the play-off round of 16. EC Red Bull Salzburg will start with two home games in their seventh CHL season. The champions of the win2day ICE Hockey League will host the Norwegian champions, the Stavanger Oilers, in the Salzburg Eisarena on Thursday (20:20, ORF Sport+). This will be followed on Saturday by the semi-finalists of the Finnish top league Liiga Ilves Tampere (20:20, ORF Sport+). "There's a lot of anticipation that it's finally going to start properly," says forward Ali Wukovits. "The Champions Hockey League is always something exciting and after the long and intense pre-season we are now burning for the real start." The Red Bulls and Head Coach Matt McIlvane can count on almost the entire squad. Only convalescents Paul Huber and Philipp Wimmer are missing.

Hydro Fehérvár AV19 are taking part in the Champions Hockey League for the first time, with the Hungarians facing ZSC Lions Zurich at home in a clash of two runners-up. The Swiss reached the CHL round of 16 last year, where they were beaten by eventual champion Rögle. The Swedish side are guests in Székesfehérvár two days later. "We approach all games the same, no matter which ones they are. We want to be as good as we can be. We want to play at our best level," said Fehérvár head coach Kevin Constantine.

VSV and Olimpija start away
EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV starts its second CHL season on Friday with a road game at Färjestad Karlstad. The Swedes have taken part in Europe's premier league four times, most recently reaching the round of 16 in the 2019/20 campaign. On Sunday, the team from Villach will finish their road trip in Krakow, where the twelve-time Polish champions and winners of the 2021/22 IIHF Continental Cup await. "Every participating team has earned its place in the competition. That means all teams are strong and every game will be intense. The CHL games will also help us for the ICE season opener," VSV coach Rob Daum knows.

Besides Féhérvar, HK SŽ Olimpija will also make their CHL debut. The Slovenians will play against TPS Turku on Friday. For the Finns it is already the seventh appearance in the Champions Hockey League, but last time they did not get past the group stage three times. On Sunday, Ljubljana will face DEL club Grizzlys Wolfsburg on the road. "The games will certainly be fun, but also very demanding. Still, we don't want to see the CHL participation only as an experience, because that's a losing mentality from my point of view. We will play hard and see where that takes us," explains Olimpija coach Mitja Šivic.

September 1st:
19.00 Uhr: Hydro Fehérvár AV19 - ZSC Lions Zürich
20.20 Uhr: EC Red Bull Salzburg - Stavanger Oilers

September 2nd:
18.00 Uhr: TPS Turku - HK SŽ Olimpija
20.35: Färjestad Karlstad - EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV

September 3rd:
18.00 Uhr: Hydro Fehérvár AV19 - Rögle Ängelholm
20.20 Uhr: EC Red Bull Salzburg - Ilves Tampere

September 4th:
19.00 Uhr: Grizzlys Wolfsburg - HK SŽ Olimpija
20.20 Uhr: Comarch Cracovia - EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV

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