- SC Bern have a one point advantage over Red Bull Salzburg coming into the final group games
- Gaëtan Haas scored in the shootout to give Bern the extra point last week
- Salzburg can leapfrog Bern with a regulation win on Wednesday night
The battle for top spot in Group G will come to an end on Wednesday night when Red Bull Salzburg play host to SC Bern, with both teams already through to the next round in this year’s Champions Hockey League.
After a meeting last week went to a shootout, where SC Bern came out on top after a lengthy shootout, only one-point separates the two sides coming into the final day of group stage action.
A win for Salzburg in regulation will be enough for them to leapfrog Bern into top spot, while a win for Bern will see them top the group, in what has been a great tournament so far for Swiss teams.
Brant Harris got the only goal of the game last week for Salzburg before the shootout, for his team leading fifth point of the campaign, and he'll be one of the key men going forward while Ryan Duncan, John Hughes and Chris Vandevelde all are just a point behind him with a goal and three assists each for four points, but they'll be coming up against a difficult Bern defensive unit on Wednesday night.
With two new goalies this year, Salzburg have given both Steve Michalek and Lukas Herzog a lot of game time, with Michalek getting the start last Wednesday. With both first-year goalies impressing for Salzburg, either could give the hosts a chance as they chase that top spot in Group G.
After skating away with two points following last week’s shootout victory, Bern stayed top of Group G for now but will need to do it again on Wednesday if they are to remain in that top spot.
Bern come into the final game day with five wins so far, but one coming in overtime against the Cardiff Devils as well last week’s shootout, it's made sure Group G is still in for an exciting finish despite the two qualification spots already being secured.
Once again Leonardo Genoni has been fantastic in net for Bern, allowing just 9 goals through the first five games, boasting an impressive 1.77 goals against average, a CHL best for netminders who've played all five of their team’s games so far, and only trailing Johan Gustafsson of Frölunda and Gustaf Lindvall of Skelleftea who both have only two appearances to their name.
Jan Muršak is the leading man going forward for them shown by his three goals and two assists so far, and in a group with some solid goaltenders like Genoni he'll need to have his pinpoint accurate shot going for him on Wednesday night to give Bern the spark they need to go undefeated in the group stage, and they'll have either Michalek or Herzog trying their best to stop them.
While Muršak leads the team in points in the CHL, they do have some other weapons they can use on Wednesday night, with Andrew Ebbett currently leading the NLA with 13 points in 10 games, he's another key player to watch for as Bern close in on that top spot.