The Grizzlys Wolfsburg last played in the 2017/18 Champions Hockey League season and after a lengthy pause have qualified once more, thanks to a third place finish in the regular season of the DEL. A loss in the semi-finals crushed their hopes of going further, but their strong performance over the last two domestic seasons has been a positive achievement for the German side. 

It was a tough first game for Wolfsburg who went down to visiting Swiss side EV Zug 5-2. Forwards Laurin Braun and Luis Schinko were the lone scorers for the German side, with both goals secured in the second period. In the end, Wolfsburg were unable to claw back the deficit suffering defeat at home.

Champions Hockey League wildcard entry, and "dark horses", Olimpija Ljubljana showcased a competitive performance against  TPS Turku in their debut game, despite being outshot 34-19. 

Ljubljana’s Jaka Sodja and Aljoša Crnović netted a point each against the Finnish side, but the team were unable to equalise before the final buzzer sounded. Slovenian netminder Žan Us was instrumental in limiting Turku's damage to three goals from 34 shot attempts. 

With both teams nursing the disappointment of opening game losses, the pressure is on to turn their luck around. Despite being the more experienced of the two, it doesn't look like Wolfsburg will have an easy run against the Slovenian challengers.