The Round of 32 presents a chance for both Luleå Hockey of Sweden and Eisbären Berlin of Germany to renew their rivalry, with the two sides meeting previously in the competition back in the 2016/17 season.
While their two previous meetings in that season's Group Stage were some time ago now, Luleå will be hoping for an improvement, while Berlin will come in with confidence, knowing that they have beaten their Round of 32 opponents twice previously.
Back in the inaugural season of the current format of the Champions Hockey League, Luleå were crowned champions, defeating the Frölunda Indians in the Final, and their Head Coach Thomas Berglund has his eyes set on trying to repeat that this year.
“Our goal with the Champions Hockey League is the same every time we get a chance to participate, to show what we are capable of and hopefully being able to go all the way.”Thomas Berglund (Head Coach, Luleå Hockey)
It won’t be the first time the two teams have met in the CHL. After failing to qualify from the group last time Luleå faced off against Berlin in the CHL, they’ll be well aware of the danger presented by their German opponents.
“Berlin will be a great matchup for us. It will be both a tough challenge on the ice and it is a good place to travel to for our fans, if that will be possible in October,” said Berglund.
The new format this season means teams can’t stumble out of the gates and will need to be ready to go the second the puck drops, but for Berglund and his side, it’s very much a business-as-usual approach.
“Starting with the knockout phase right away should not make much of a difference. We should always be ready to compete in every game that we face, regardless when it happens during the season.”
Berlin return to the competition for the fifth time this season, and they’ll be hoping to start strongly against an opponent they’ve already beaten twice in the tournament before. With Head Coach Serge Aubin in charge, the team from the German capital is looking forward to the challenge, and the opportunities that playing in the Champions Hockey League brings.
“It’s very interesting,” said Aubin. “What I love about the CHL is you play a different style of hockey. Once you step out of Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, France ... everyone’s got their own little flavour to the game.”
“It’s going to be very interesting coming up against Luleå, it’s going to be tough. I expect a very very tight hockey game. I expect this to come down to just about anything.”Serge Aubin (Head Coach Eisbären Berlin)
"It’s definitely one of those matches where in order for us to move forward we’re going to have to really bear down and bring everything we’ve got because it’s a tough opponent."
It won’t be the first time that Aubin has come up against Luleå either. Back in the 2014/15 season, Aubin was serving as an assistant coach to start the season with the Hamburg Freezers, who faced Luleå twice in the Group Stage, and he remembers how tough of an opponent they were.
“The last time I played there we ended up coming short. The format was different, so we didn’t play back-to-back, but I remember going there and we lost the game 4-1. It was a hard-fought game, but there was a lot of skill, a lot of poise with the puck, tremendous work ethic from Luleå."
He continued: “I know it’s a program that’s run well, like it is here, we make sure our guys are ready and keep working even when the season is off, we make sure they’re physically ready to go. Sometimes it comes down to just one little mistake and I really believe that’s what it’s going to come down to here, they’re going to be intense.
"We’re going to have to be at our best, normally you reach your best nearer the playoffs, but we’re going to have to be at our best very early in order to move on."