A dominating performance from Frölunda Gothenburg's defence, highlighted by a 22-save shutout by Tobias Normann, allowed the four-time Champions Hockey League Champions to overcome HC Bolzano by a final of 3-0. Their opponents, however, were on the opposite end of their game as they fell to Lukko Rauma 4-1 in their Game Day 1 contest.

What began as a promising position - scoring on the powerplay eight minutes into the match-up - for Lausanne, eventually turned into a crisis effort. The Swiss failed to afford a full 60-minute performance against one of the better contenders in the pan-European tournament, and that lack of energy saw them give up four unanswered goals, including two in the third.

The challenge that lies ahead will again test the Swiss to the height of their ability as they take on a force that has a strong history in the CHL storyline. In order to come away with the win against Frölunda, Lausanne will need to re-examine their play with the puck. In their game against Lukko, the Swiss only fired off 18 shots against the opposing netminder. Putting more pressure on the backstop is instrumental if they hope to upset the unstoppable.

Despite not appearing since the 2022/23 campaign, the Swedes looked as excellent as ever - closing gaps, preventing plays from developing in their own zone, and generating quality chance after quality chance. Nevertheless, Lausanne brings a different challenge all their own and if Frölunda hope to assemble back-to-back wins, they'll need that same mix of offence and defence that held the Italians goalless in their initial outing.