In the ever-tight Group F, this is a huge game for both teams. Mountfield have the more difficult road ahead, needing at least one point to survive this week, although in truth they'd like more to make their task next week a little less difficult. Bern, meanwhile, are in position to advance with a regulation win, which would eliminate both Mountfield and TPS Turku.
Mountfield began the CHL with a big win over TPS but followed then took only 1 point from their next three games against Nottingham and TPS. They continued to slump into the start of the Czech Extraliga season, losing their first three games. Since then, however, they have won four of six games, most recently 2-1 on home ice over BK Mladá Boleslav. After nine games they are tightly squeezed in the middle of the pack in a four-way tie for 7th place. Captain Jaroslav Bednář leads the team with 7 points in 5 Extraliga games, while Roman Kukumberg has 4 points in 4 CHL contests.
SC Bern are the two-time reigning Swiss champions and have carried their winning ways over to this season, as they lead the National League standings with 14 points in eight games. They enter this game in Hradec Králové on a four-game winning streak. Off-season acquisition Gaëtan Haas leads the team in domestic scoring with 12 points in eight games, while the CHL lead is shared by defenceman Maxim Noreau and forward Simon Moser with 5 points each.