Release from 27.08.2025

Salzburg, Klagenfurt, and Bolzano kick off the new CHL season

Short text 322 CharactersPlain text

The first two match days of the 2025/26 Champions Hockey League season are scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. From the perspective of the win2day ICE Hockey League, champions EC Red Bull Salzburg, runners-up EC-KAC, and third-placed HCB Südtirol Alperia are represented in Europe's most prestigious hockey competition.

Press release 2552 CharactersPlain text

EC-KAC will be the first ICE team to get involved in the action. The Klagenfurt-based team will face Czech top club Sparta Prague at home on Thursday at 20:20 On Saturday, they will also play against German champions Eisbären Berlin at the Heidi Horten Arena in Klagenfurt on Saturday. The team from the German capital clearly prevailed against the Kölner Haie in the final series of the last DEL season. The Eisbären have never played a competitive game against KAC before, nor have the Carinthians played against Sparta Prague.

ICE title holders EC Red Bull Salzburg will also start the new campaign with two home games. First, they will host Polish champions GKS Tychy on Friday, before facing the Pinguins Bremerhaven from the DEL on Sunday. Bremerhaven failed to make it past the quarterfinals in the last DEL season, but finished the regular season in third place, qualifying for the CHL. Salzburg has not yet played a competitive game against either Tychy or Bremerhaven.

The third ICE team in this year's CHL season is HCB Südtirol Alperia. After a year's absence, the “Foxes” are back in Europe's premier hockey league. However, their start could hardly be more difficult: in their first game, Bolzano will be guests at Frölunda Gothenburg. The Swedes have won the competition four times, most recently in 2020. Last season, Frölunda, like Bolzano, was eliminated in the semifinals of its domestic league. On Sunday, the South Tyroleans will also face Finnish top team Lukko Rauma away.

New “No Return” rule
In the new CHL season, the “No Return” rule will be applied for the first time in overtime. This rule prohibits teams in possession of the puck in the attacking zone from retreating to the neutral zone. If this rule is violated, play is stopped and the ensuing face-off takes place in the offending team's defensive zone. The aim of the rule is to counteract the tendency to retreat and regroup even under slight pressure – a style of play that reduces the intensity of 3-on-3 and has led to more games being decided in penalty shootouts.

Champions Hockey League:
Thu, 28.08.2025:
20:20: EC-KAC – Sparta Prague

Fri, 29.08.2025:
19:00: Frölunda Gothenburg – HCB Südtirol Alperia
20:20: EC Red Bull Salzburg – GKS Tychy

Sat, 30.08.2025:
20:20: EC-Klagenfurt – Eisbären Berlin

Sun, 31.08.2025:
15:00: Lukko Rauma – HCB Südtirol Alperia
17:30: EC Red Bull Salzburg – Pinguins Bremerhaven

Take part in the CHL quiz now and test your knowledge.