Both Mountfield HK and Brynäs IF will be looking for bounce-back efforts after falling in their openers on Friday. Mountfield have one point from a shootout loss to the Odense Bulldogs, but Brynäs came up with nothing against Kometa Brno.

Friday’s result was particularly disappointing – it was a game that they led 3-1 with seven minutes to play in regulation time and outshot their Danish visitors 50-16 over 65 minutes. They got goals from Alex Tamáši, Aleš Jergl and Oskars Batna but couldn’t protect the lead, and then came up empty on six shootout attempts. Things will only get more difficult on Sunday.

Following their 4-1 defeat on Friday, the Brynäs team bus makes the 190-km drive from Brno to Hradec Králové for their second game. Despite a star-studded line-up, the Swedish team found it difficult to finish offensively – veteran Jakob Silfverberg fired six shots on goal but came up empty. Jack Kopacka had five and finally scored on a 2-on-1 in the 34th minute with his team already trailing 3-0. Goaltender Collin Delia was beaten three times on 23 shots – we might see young Italian Damian Clara in this game.

This will be these teams’ first-ever Champions Hockey League meeting.