After scoring the equaliser in the third, Luleå Hockey seemed to have caught some steam, but a stingy EV Zug defence, capped off by the excellent play of Leonardo Genoni, left a sour taste in the Swedes' mouths as they failed to take home the victory on home ice. Meanwhile, success continued for the Swiss as SC Bern orchestrated a 2-0 shutout over Grenoble to open their 2025/26 Champions Hockey League campaign.

The first stanza came and went for both the Swiss and the French as neither were able to find the net through the opening 20 minutes. But then in the second, Bern took control, lighting the lamp twice in the span of 18 seconds and then putting on a defensive clinic for the rest of the contest. Grenoble's chances were far and few as they only let off 18 total shots and were never able to generate any sustained pressure.

Looking ahead, Bern seem to have their defence in check, but building more pressure in the offensive zone would do wonders for a team that only scored twice on 29 shots. Luleå will be a much tougher challenge, so converting on offensive opportunities will be key.

The Swedes played an extremely tight game against one of the better teams in the pan-European competition and one of the better goalies in the entire tournament. They were able to match Zug's intensity at times - even outshooting them - and outpaced them for some stretches. Yet, their lack of engineering sustained offensize zone time ultimately stonewalled them from producing any real threat to the more structured play of the Swiss.

As they prepare to take on their second Swiss challenger, it would be in their best interest if Luleå were able to slow the game down when the puck was on their stick. Rather than trying to execute risky passes, be smarter with the puck and move it North/South so as to create more openings.