- Vienna and Frölunda begin their CHL campaigns in the Austrian capital
- The "Caps" have never made the Round of 16
- Two-time champions Frölunda left in the Round of 16 last season
Vienna Capitals will be looking to put a line through their Champions Hockey League past when they face off against the Frölunda Indians in the second game of Group A.
Despite finishing bottom of their group in the previous two years, the Capitals will be hungry to play against a new opponent in Frölunda, who suffered their earliest exit in the tournament last year crashing out in the Quarter-Finals; a stage of the tournament Vienna have yet to reach.
"Frölunda are one of the toughest teams you can face in the CHL. It will be a tough fight."Dave Cameron (Head Coach, Vienna Capitals)
History aside, both team have experienced contrasting pre-seasons. Frölunda begun theirs with a 5-3 win against last year’s SHL champions and CHL finalists Växjö. Since then however they’ve lost the remaining two games against fellow league teams HV71 and Farjestad.
A semi-final loss in the Austrian leagues post season has been long forgotten by Vienna, who’ve since enjoyed a positive preseason beating MAC Budapest 3-1, with last season’s top point scorer Rafael Rotter getting his scoring campaign underway. They also ended Slovakian Champions HC Banská Bystrica four game winning streak, winning 3-2 in OT to build some momentum of their own in time to welcome Frölunda to the atmospheric Erste Bank Arena.
"Vienna are an interesting and new team for us in the CHL. We've scouted them to be ready."Roger Rönnberg (Head Coach, Frölunda Indians)