It's been a couple of days but Champions Hockey League action returned on Thursday, and one of the games that day saw French side Grenoble host Kärpät Oulu of Finland in Group E action, after Kärpät took a 3-1 victory in the first meeting between the sides.

It didn't take long for the visitors to open the scoring, just under five minutes into the opening period Sam Anttila redirected a shot from close range past Lukas Horak for the games opening goal, but later in the period it was Frenchman Damien Fleury with his third goal in as many gaes to tie things up at 1-1 with a blast from the point to get Grenoble on the board before the end of 20 minutes of action. It looked like things could've remained tied at a goal each after the second period, but Kärpät struck late with two quick goals, firstly a lovely solo move by Jesse Puljujärvi to put his side ahead by one, and then Janne Pesonen added another less than a minute later. Kärpät would make it 4-1 before the middle period was done thanks to Jakub Krejčík to give the visitors a commanding lead going into the final period of regulation. 

Kärpät were firmly in control heading in the third period both on the scoresheet and in the shot department, with a 25 to 6 advantage through 40 minutes, but early penalty trouble for the visitors proved costly as Grenoble grabbed their second goal of the night on a five on three powerplay, with Antonin Manavian finding the back of the net to make it 4-2 with plenty of time remaining on the clock. Kärpät re-opened their three goal cushion later in the period, with Juho Lammikko tapping the puck across the line for a 5-2 lead with just less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. Just minutes later the visitors added a sixth as Tuukka Tieksola became the sixth different scorer for Kärpät in the game, and the Finns cruised to the final buzzer as they opened their roadtrip with a convincing 6-2 victory.