Group B of this years Champions Hockey League was deemed unpredictable from the start, and after the first round of games it showed just how wide open this group could be. TPS Turku, who are a mainstay in the CHL are coming off the back of a poor group stage last year, and could risk doing it again, dropping points in an 8 – 4 loss to the Malmo Redhawks, will Red Bull Munich were able to survive against Yunost Minsk who looked like they could have upset the German side on day two of the competition.

Munich led Minsk 4–2 going into the final period of their game against their Belarussian rivals, and despite an early third period goal from Minsk, four goals in two periods from two players was enough to seal the win with Trevor Parkes and Mark Voakes both finding the net twice, while they’ll need a more solid performance in the cage from Danny aus den Birken if they are to grab another win as the German netminder allowed three goals on 21 shots.

On the other end of the ice, TPS fell short following a second period rout from the Malmo Redhawks. The side from Finland had an impressive record of consistently qualifying from the group stages of the CHL, but failed to do so last year, and risk a similar fate if they fail to pick up points against Munich. They’ll need a much better performance in net from Henrik Haueland who faced 30 shots on the night on Saturday, allowing six as Malmo found the empty net twice late in the third period.

There were some positives for TPS to take from the game, forward Oula Palve looked on fine form, finding the net twice in the game, while Zach Budish also registered two points with a goal and assist in the loss, but TPS will need to regroup quick to try and get their campaign back on track.