Ice hockey’s Champions Hockey League continues after a short break, when the Fifth round of the preliminary groups will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ilves needs a win today. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
The Finnish teams Ilves and Jukurit will play on Tuesday.
Ilves hosts Norway’s Stavanger Oilers in a match starting at 19:00 in Tampere. The other teams in the group are the Swiss Fribourg-Gottéron and the Austrian Red Bull Salzburg.
All four teams still have a chance to advance, but Ilves, who is at the bottom of the group, is facing a must-win.
– The CHL is still very important to us. Meeting Stavanger is again a great opportunity for players, coaches and the entire organization, Ilves pilot Joko Myrrä says in CHL.’s announcement.
– We have mainly played high-quality puck at home, and we are going to play that now as well.
Jukurs in second place
Jukurit is second in its group with six points, and Mikkeli will be visited by Sparta Praha, three points behind. The Swedish Lulaja is the top of the group, followed by the Danish Aalborg Pirates.
A win would bring Jukurei a place in the next round. This match also starts at 19:00.
– We now have two match balls. The starting point is that the victory will come either after 60 or 65 minutes, Jukurie’s head coach Olli Jokinen line in the bulletin.
According to Jokinen, Sparta Praha’s strengths are well known.
– There will be a high-quality team with a strong team. We have to be able to tire them out.
On Wednesday, the Finnish teams TPS will host Grizzlys Wolfsburg and Tappara will face Red Bull Munich away.