For their first home game of the 2025/26 Champions Hockey League season, Ilves Tampere host Red Bull Salzburg. These two teams are among only four in the whole competition that managed to take all six available points from their first two games.

Opening on the road, winning 3-1 over ERC Ingolstadt and 7-4 over the Belfast Giants – Ilves' 10 goals scored is tops in the CHL right now. Forwards Jens Lööke and Matias Mäntykivi and defenceman Simon Johansson are three of the CHL’s six co-leaders with six points each right now. Not surprisingly, they’ve had success on special teams, with a 25.00% rate on the powerplay and a perfect 100.00% on the PK.

Salzburg had two tight games on home ice to start – a 3-1 victory over GKS Tychy and 3-2 over Pinguins Bremerhaven, with the winning goals coming in the third period each time. Captain Thomas Raffl has been the team’s biggest performer so far, factoring in on four of the team’s six goals so far and being among the six co-leaders in points. Benjamin Nissner has also scored two goals, while Peter Schneider has two assists, seven shots on goal and five blocked shots.

Last season, Salzburg advanced to the CHL Quarter-Finals while Ilves didn’t get past the Regular Season. The winner of this game will be in fine shape for advancing to the Playoffs this season.