A pair of tallies from Andrew Rowe - who now has three points, all goals, in three games - sparked ERC Ingolstadt’s offence and propelled the Germans past Red Bull Salzburg 2-1 as Ingolstadt remain undefeated through their first three contests. Dynamo Pardubice easily dealt with a struggling squad in the Stavanger Oilers, handing them their third loss of the competition to the tune of a 5-1 victory.

With two consecutive wins, Pardubice are shaping up to be a handful for their European competitors. After escaping with a 4-3 win over Skellefteå AIK, the Czechs have been gelling well and their special teams play has been especially effective.

In their match-up against Stavanger, the Czechs managed three straight powerplay goals while their penalty kill shut down all three chances from the Norwegians. Sitting in fifth place in both penalty kill percentage and powerplay conversion, Pardubice are in no need of any adjustment when it comes to being a man up or a man down.

Boosting their scoring at even strength will only help their cause as they prepare to face a competent competitor in Ingolstadt.

Any concerns coming into this season regarding the team from Ingolstadt should be put to rest. The club from Bavaria have pieced together three solid efforts that have resulted in three consecutive wins to begin their 2023/24 bid for the European Trophy, and that all amounts to their more-than-capable offence in concert with their stellar defence, including a netminder who is among the league leaders in Michael Garteig.

After three games, Ingolstadt have positioned themselves in the top ten in several categories, including goals per game (3.33), goals against per game (2.00), and goal differential (+4).

However, not all has gone well for the Germans as their special teams have struggled, namely their powerplay which is operating at a mere 8.33% efficiency – they've secured one powerplay marker on 12 attempts. Rectifying this should see an already formidable squad become an even bigger obstacle for Europe’s best.