- SC Bern struck late to steal victory from the Vaxjo Lakers in game one
- Cardiff impressed with their special teams, but struggled to find the net in an opening game loss.
- Bern sit second in Group G while the Devils look to move from the bottom spot.
After very different results for the two teams in the opening games, SC Bern will be looking to continue their momentum after they saw off Vaxjo on Thursday night, while the Cardiff Devils will be looking to get their Champions Hockey League campaign back on track when they host Bern on Saturday night in Ice Arena Wales
The Cardiff Devils fell short in their opening game against Red Bull Salzburg, losing out 5 – 2 on the night, but the solid performance by netminder Ben Bowns should give them confidence that they can try and pull of an upset against SC Bern, as well as the strong display by their special teams, that could have had more than one goal had it not been for a great performance in net by Lukas Herzog of Salzburg in game one.
Cardiff saw the return of some key players following injuries in game one, with former KHL star Charles Linglet returning to the team, as well as Justin Faryna who is well known for his physical style of play..
"Thursday was frustrating because we put ourselves in a whole... but we're very excited about facing Bern"Andrew Lord (Head Coach, Cardiff Devils)
SC Bern faced a tough opponent in Swedish powerhouse the Vaxjo Lakers but managed to pull of what could be considered an upset victory, as a shot from a tight angle from Michael Kampf was enough to give them the three points, that put’s them second in Group G behind Red Bull Salzburg. With the confidence from a win over one of the tournament favourites, SC Bern will be hoping to continue the momentum, and avoid a similar result in their last trip to the United Kingdom, which saw them drop points in a 4 – 2 loss to last years surprise team the Nottingham Panthers.
Their opponents, the Cardiff Devils have a great netminder in Ben Bowns, but Bern will be hoping that Leonardo Genoni can continue his dominant displays in net, with the Swiss international turning away 28 shots in Bern’s opening game victory.
"We saw what British teams can bring when we played Nottingham last year. Cardiff are also Elite League Champions..."Kari Jalonen (Head Coach, SC Bern)