The Frölunda Indians have been a dominant force in the Champions Hockey League, entering their sixth season as reigning champions once again after the lifted the trophy for the third time at the end of the 2018/19 CHL season.
With their opening game against the Graz99ers, things seemed to be getting off on the right foot. A goal 27 seconds in from Theodor Lennström was followed by a converted penalty shot by Samuel Fagemo, giving the Indians a 2-0 lead just 62 seconds in.
"We started well but then we lost it. We need to create chances through our forecheck and attacking, but we played too hard. They are a good team, they took advantage of our mistakes and got a lot of turnovers."Max Friberg following opening game loss to Graz99ers
But a resilient performance by Graz saw them fight back, drawing level after 20 minutes, and with the teams trading chances in regulation, it took an eight round shootout to separate the sides, as Robin Weihager scored the winner for Graz to secure victory in their debut CHL game, meaning the reigning champions suffered defeat in their opening game for the first time since the 2014/15 season where they fell 4 – 3 in their first game to Genève-Servette.
"I don’t think that our start was good, it is something to build on for the rest of the game. But we didn’t manage to take advantage of the start and gave away the lead, which is something you never could do no matter the opponents. We need to learn from our mistakes today and play better on Sunday."Max Friberg following opening game loss to Graz99ers
Max Friberg and his Frölunda teammates don’t have to wait long to try and get their first win of the tournament, with their second game against Mountfield HK on Sunday.