- Salzburg won on Friday with last-minute Thomas Raffl goal
- Bremerhaven won on Friday with Jan Urbas OT goal
- Both teams reached CHL Quarter-Finals last season
In the very last game of Game Day 2 on Sunday night, Red Bull Salzburg host Pinguins Bremerhaven in a match-up between two teams that won on Friday thanks to some late heroics and team effort.
Salzburg got a stiff test from visiting GKS Tychy, with the game tied 1-1 entering the last minute of play. That’s when long-time captain Thomas Raffl went to work, scoring the game-winner and adding an empty-netter to cap a three-point night. The 39-year-old was a force in the game, logging 21:16 in ice time, while newly-acquired younger brother Michael Raffl played 17:00 in his team debut.
Meanwhile, Bremerhaven played spoilers in ZSC Lions Zurich’s debut as the reigning CHL Champions with an impressive 3-2 overtime win. Bremerhaven took the early lead, tied it late, and got solid goaltending from Leon Hungerecker. Veteran Slovene Jan Urbas assisted on the equaliser with 7:50 left and then scored the OT-winner on an incredible effort.
This will be the first-ever Champions Hockey League meeting between these teams. Both advanced to the Quarter-Finals last season, and the winner will look to be in good shape as far as making the Playoffs again.