Playing in the Champions Hockey League often gives players the chance to play in venues and against teams they wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Sometimes though, it’s returning to somewhere you know that can spur you on.
In our latest #MyCHLMoment, we’re going back to the start of the 2019/20 season and only the second-ever appearance of Grenoble in the CHL. On 1 September, they travelled to Skellefteå – only two days after a narrow loss in Oulu.
“I don’t have to look back very far to find one of my best memories in the CHL - our win in Skellefteå,” began veteran forward Damien Fleury.
“The day before we were all feeling pretty good and you could tell our team was confident. However, it’s definitely true that in hindsight we were the underdogs in this game and certainly not favourites to win it.”
"We showed Europe that France also knows how to play hockey!"Damien Fleury
Fleury scored the opening goal inside ten minutes to give the Brûleurs de Loups a lead that they would never surrender. “In that whole CHL season we played good hockey, decent games, and despite losing some it was only by tight margins” he explained. Joel Champagne added an insurance marker with 63 seconds to go before the hosts pulled a goal back almost on the final buzzer.
A 2-1 win was only Grenoble’s second in the CHL, and first on the road. “That day we showed Europe that we also know how to play hockey in France!” declared Fleury. “For me it was all the better because I knew this rink, and this league," added Fleury, who had spells in the SHL with Luleå, Timrå and Djurgården. "To find a way to win with this team was a really great moment.”