It's going to be a very tough series between two top teams eager to make it to the ultimate game of the 2025/26 season! Luleå Hockey have the experience of three past CHL Semi-Finals to draw from, two of which led them further onto the Final, while EV Zug are in the CHL Semi-Finals for only their second time ever. Who will it be?
- Luleå's offence continues to shine
- Zug's stable goaltending has helped their performance
- Second time these clubs meet this season, Zug prevailed in OT win on GD 1
Everything went right on home ice for EV Zug, who clawed back from a 3-1 loss in their Quarter-Finals First Game to win their series against Lukko Rauma, taking their fifth win of the Champions Hockey League season in style.
The Swiss side's Leonardo Genoni played brilliantly, securing his second shutout of the competition and helping his team to the next leg of the 2025/26 campaign. For their part, Luleå Hockey played spoiler to Ilves Tampere's otherwise perfect run as they handed the Finnish side their only two defeats of the season and confidently won the two-game series 6-2 on aggregate.
lves came into the series undefeated, but an all-around effort from Luleå proved to be too much for their Finnish foes as the Swedes put tremendous pressure on their opponents' netminder, peppering the backstop with 39 shots in their first meeting, with three shots eventually finding twine.
Up front, Mathias Bromé was busy for Luleå, snatching one goal and one assist in the First Game and another helper in the Return Game fixture. The 31-year-old currently leads the forward corps. in points with two goals and eight assists through ten games played. Having him manufacture chances up ice will only help the Swedes' chances of taking down a dominant defensive squad in Zug.
Zug found themselves in a two-goal hole to close out their First Game against Lukko, but a bounce-back performance in the Return Game saw them sweep three tallies into the net in a contest that was capped off by Genoni's efforts between the pipes.
The Swiss have the scoring power and strong special unit play, while their Swedish opponents lack nothing and have the benefit of past success in these rounds of the Champions Hockey League. Zug were victorious against Luleå back on Game Day 1 but now we see two teams that can go all the way in this two-game battle for a place in the CHL Final!