The Belfast Giants host Ilves Tampere in the second game of the Champions Hockey League season for both teams. For the Giants, it’s the second Finnish Liiga opponent they’re hosting at the SSE Arena.

The Giants have one point from their first game, a 3-2 overtime loss to KalPa Kuopio, but were just a minute away from gaining three. They led 2-1 after two periods but it surely could have been more after some squandered odd-man opportunities. Patrick Grasso and Ryan Smith scored the Belfast goals – the latter on a powerplay that went 1-for-4 in the game. Alexis Gravel stopped 31 of 34 shots against KalPa, but there’s a good chance we could see British national team goalie Jackson Whistle on Saturday.

Ilves opened with a 3-1 victory over ERC Ingolstadt in Germany thanks to a fast start – leading 2-0 just eight minutes into the game. Jens Lööke and Matias Mäntykivi had two points each for Ilves and veteran Carl Klingberg, who has plenty of CHL experience with EV Zug, combined on a powerplay goal with the pair. Goaltender Dominik Pavlát was beaten once in the third period but otherwise made 28 saves.

This is Belfast’s fourth time in the CHL, they’re seeking their first playoff berth and first win over a Finnish opponent, following three losses. This is also Ilves’ fourth time in the CHL – they have one playoff appearance and this will be their first-ever game against an EIHL team.