KalPa Kuopio and the Malmö Redhawks are both teams that plan on advancing from Group B, but with capable opponents such as Kometa Brno and the Stavanger Oilers, neither can afford to slip up, making this first game crucial. KalPa have been recent contenders in Finland but haven’t managed to get past the Round of 16 in three previous CHL attempts. This is Malmö’s first attempt at the CHL, but their roster is full of players with CHL experience, including Lars Brygmann and Daniel Zaar, who won the title with Luleå in 2014/15.

“The Malmö Redhawks are well-known to Finns because of Raimo Helminen, Mikko Mäkelä and Juha Riihijärvi,” said legendary KalPa Coach Sami Kapanen. “It is a major sports club in Sweden which has returned to the top of the Swedish League, as their place in the semi-finals proves.”

Malmö Head Coach Peter Andersson said of KalPa: “They have lots of good players and were ranked third in the Liiga last season. Having them come in as runners-up in the playoffs, we know they’re a good team. Finnish hockey is very good.”