ERC Ingolstadt will suit up against the Växjö Lakers as the Round of 16 action kicks off in this iteration of the Champions Hockey League. Ingolstadt began their campaign with three straight wins but have since suffered three consecutive losses. Växjö, on the other hand, managed to stay undefeated with one of their wins coming against the Germans – a 5-2 decision – in their Game Day 5 match-up.

The Swedes finished the Regular Season tied with Adler Mannheim with 16 points after securing four wins in regulation and two more in OT. Several elements were at play for Växjö in qualifying for their fifth trip to the Playoffs, chief among which are their excellent goals for per game and goals against per game. The Swedish side was equally successful at finding the opponent’s net and keeping the puck out of their own as evidenced by their first-ranked GF average of 4.83 and third-ranked GA average of 2.17.

Entering Tuesday’s contest, Växjö will look to advance past the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2017/18 season – a year in which they made the Final. Fortunately, the club appears to have all the tools necessary to accomplish this. Växjö boosts excellent scoring up front with both Noah Östlund (4G,3A) and Tobias Rieder (2G,5A) riding seven points through six games, while on the backend Joel Persson has contributed two tucks and three helpers of his own for five points in five games. In net, both netminders have been outstanding, but it's the play of Emil Larmi that has been particularly impressive as he sports a 97.83 SV% and an unreal 0.50 GAA through 120 minutes of hockey.

For Ingolstadt, finding the key to success starts with looking back at what they did right through the first half of the Regular Season. The Germans put together three solid efforts, including a 3-2 victory over Swedish heavyweight Färjestad Karlstad, where they managed to score ten goals in that span. Since their last 2-1 win on Game Day 3 over Red Bull Salzburg, Ingolstadt have gone on to find the net only three times.

Their goals for per game is ranked 19th in the league with 2.17 and their goals against is among the highest in the league with 3.67. Up front, Wojciech Stachowiak has so far secured three goals and one assist for four points through six games Wayne Simpson has netted two and assisted on two also for four points in six games. Maury Edwards leads Ingolstadt’s defence in points with four assists through six games, as well. Finding their rhythm offensively and settling things down in the D-zone will go a long way to helping out their netminder, Michael Garteig, who so far sports respectable numbers with a 92.59 SV% and a 2.28 GAA.