After a big road win away to Mannheim, Lugano took the early lead in Group C. Tappara on the other hand lost in their visit to the Adler, and head to Switzerland in search of their first CHL points this season. Another loss and the Tampere side would have it all to do on home ice. Swiss sides have yet to lose in the CHL so far this season, and if Lugano carried that on they'd be in a good position after two games.

After a big road win away to Mannheim, Lugano took the early lead in Group C. Tappara, on the other hand, lost in their visit to Germany, and head to Switzerland in search of their first CHL points this season. Another loss and the Tampere side would have to do it all on home ice. Swiss teams have yet to lose in the CHL so far this season, and if Lugano manage to carry that on they'll be in a very good position after two games.

"I’m really satisfied with my team because in Mannheim we found a way to win, even if the first period was really difficult. Special teams were the key points," said head coach Doug Shedden. "We won't underestimate Tampere after their defeat in Germany. They lost some very skilled players recently and they have a young team, but they still are the Finnish champions.”

“We saw Lugano play against Mannheim and know that we are against another strong, physical team. We got outplayed in battling for the puck against Mannheim, so that is the single biggest thing we have to improve for Tuesday's game," said Petri Tuononen of Tappara’s coaching staff. "One-on-one battles, special teams both shorthanded and on the powerplay, and attacking as a unit – those should be our focus points in Lugano.”