Eishockey
The two Austrian ice hockey clubs Salzburg and VSV were drawn to attractive opponents for the group stage in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) draw on Wednesday in Tampere. In their seventh participation in Group E, ICE champions Salzburg meet Fribourg-Gotteron (SUI), debutant Ilves Tampere (FIN) and the Stavanger Oilers (NOR). In Group F, VSV faces Sweden’s champions Färjestad Karlstad, the Straubing Tigers (GER) and Continental Cup winner Comarch Cracovia (POL).
The CHL will be held in the coming season with 32 participants (seven debutants) from 13 countries. Olimpija Ljubljana and Fehervar AV19 are also there from the ICE league. The group stage will be played from September 1st to October 12th in eight groups of four in a round robin. The first and second placed teams advance to the playoffs. The final will take place on February 18, 2023.
Salzburg captain Thomas Raffl was happy about a “cool group with great names”. In the previous season, the “bulls” failed in the round of 16 at the French club Rouen Dragons. “Our goal is to reach the play-offs again, and accordingly we will prepare for the games on the international stage,” said Raffl.
The CHL has been firmly in Swedish hands since the start of the 2014/15 league. With Lulea (2015), record winner Frölunda Göteborg (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) and Rögle (2022) there were six successes for Swedish clubs, only in 2018 did a Finnish team win with JYP Jyväskylä.