EV Zug are off to the right start in this year's CHL, scoring a 8-3 win in Esbjerg thanks to two goals from Jarkko Immonen. Read more in Gamecentre.

In two previous tries EV Zug were unable to get out of the CHL Group Stage. This year they're off to the right start, however, with an 8-3 win in Esbjerg to open Group G.

Esbjerg Energy had an energetic start to the game, fuelled by their active fans, but penalties slowed their momentum. Zug scored the game's first two goals – one just after a power play had ended and one on the power play – and then Tyler Fiddler scored Esberg's first-ever CHL goal on a power play of their own at 15:53, recovering the puck after a Tobias Stephan poke-check and putting the puck into the open net. 

Zug opened the second period with four straight goals in a 10-minute – two from Jarkko Immonen – to take a 6-1 lead, and from their cruised to the 8-3 victory. Carl Klingberg and Rafael Diaz each had a goal and two assists for the victors, while Sune Hjulmand and captain Brock Nixon each had a goal and an assist for Esbjerg.

When asked what part of the game his team played best, Esbjerg coach Mark Pederson answered, “I think the first period, for sure. It's the most structure we had in our game and the execution was high. We did some things that surprised them, I think, and showed we were ready to go. That's a good hockey team over there. The second period they came out a little bit higher execution on their side and we had some breakdowns. That's the sign of a team that's still coming together on our side and a good team on the other side – taking advantage of those chances.”

“We didn't underestimate this team one bit,” insisted Zug coach Harold Kreis. “We know Mark is doing a great job with the team – they play a well-organized, structured game. We knew we had to outwork them and hope that they make some mistakes. That was the case, but the game wasn't as easy as the score might indicate.”