Both Ilves Tampere and ZSC Lions Zurich had a pleasant Game Day 1 of the 2024/25 season of the Champions Hockey League. Both scored four, both racked up 38+ shots on goal and both picked up points into the Regular Season Standings. But that's just the face of it. Dig deeper and you'll find cracks.

Take off Zurich's mask and you'll find no surprises - the reigning Swiss champions controlled their game against a resilient Storhamar Hamar from start to finish. They scored in the first minutes of the game, added a nice Denis Malgin short-hander in the middle frame and two more goals, including an empty-net finish, in the third period to cement a nice win on the road. Special shoutout to goaltender Šimon Hrubec who was strong in net when needed. But games like this are to be expected from Switzerland's biggest hockey operation. 

Meanwhile, Finnish side Ilves, also a large and respectable name of European ice hockey, had some tough moments with one of the lowest-ranked teams of this season's line-up - Unia Oświęcim - and even looked like they were going to lose. 

After trading blows in the first period, the Finns and the Poles did the same in the second and the same in the third. But third time round, Ilves left it a little late and only equalised with an extra attacker on the ice with just over two minutes of regulation left. Eemeli Suomi, who finished the night on three points, sealed the extra point just 24 seconds into OT.

Game Day 1 was a night to forget for Ilves goaltender Dominik Pavlát who ended with a subpar 79% save percentage while the entire Ilves defence should have done better. Special play units were also to blame for a poor showing as the Finns let in two goals on the powerplay.

All in all, Ilves need to find an extra gear if they are to match a well-oiled Zurich in this game and need to keep penalty minutes down as they cost the Finns dearly against Oświęcim.