EV Zug are in control of their own destiny in this years Champions Hockey League, with wins over Eisbären Berlin and Neman Grodno, and now they return home to try and secure early qualification into the next round.

Eisbären Berlin on the other hand came up short in their two meetings at home so far, losing 5 – 3 to EV Zug, and couldn’t quite complete the comeback against Kometa Brno to put them bottom of Group D.

Zug have been lead offensively by Lino Martschini who’s continuing his impressive performances in the competition, with two goals and two assists through the opening games. His confidence will be sky high, as will the rest of the teams who carry this into their first road trip of the season, beginning against Berlin and ending against Grodno. Netminder Tobias Stephan hasn’t been at his best just yet, but has still guided Zug to two wins in what was initially set to be an unpredictable group.

Eisbären Berlin on the other hand have come short in two closely fought contests so far against Zug as well as Kometa Brno. In their second game against Brno, a great second period for the Czech side was just too much for Berlin to handle, as their comeback effort came up just short in a 3 – 2 loss.

Maximillian Franzreb has had a decent tournament so far, but Berlin will need a bit more reliability from the young netminder who is making his first appearance in the CHL, after spending the past two seasons on loan in the DEL2 with Lausitzer Füschse. But Head Coach Clément Jodoin could call upon Marvin Cüpper for the upcoming road trip. The 24-year-old had an impressive tournament last time out in four appearances, and with Berlin at risk of falling even further behind and out of the qualification race, they have to do something to turn their fortunes around soon.