The German ice hockey teams Red Bull Munich, ERC Ingolstadt and Adler Mannheim can look forward to exciting encounters in the Champions Hockey League.
Champion Munich and the defeated DEL finalist Ingolstadt meet, among others, the ten-time Swedish champion Färjestad Karlstad, the eagles have to compete with defending champion Tappara Tampere. That was the result of the draw on the sidelines of the World Cup on Wednesday in Tampere, Finland.
“For us, six highly interesting games with very different styles of play are on the program in the preliminary round,” said Munich coach Toni Söderholm.
The regular season of the ice hockey premier class starts on August 31 with a new format for the first time. The number of participating teams was reduced from 32 to 24, each team first plays against six different opponents, instead of individual groups there is an overall table.
The best 16 teams qualify for the round of 16, in the playoffs there is a return game. The final will take place on February 20, 2024.
The opponents of the German teams at a glance:
Red Bull Munich: Rauman Lukko (Finland), HC Ocelari Trinec (Czech Republic), HC Innsbruck (Austria), Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden), HC Kosice (Slovakia), HC Vitkovice Ridera (Czech Republic)
ERC Ingolstadt: Växjö Lakers (Sweden), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria), Färjestad Karlstad (Sweden), HC Dynamo Pardubice (Czech Republic), HC Vitkovice Ridera (Czech Republic), Rouen Dragons (France)
Adler Mannheim: Red Bull Salzburg (Austria), Tappara Tampere (Finland), HC Bozen (Italy), Rauman Lukko (Finland), Rouen Dragons (France), HC Kosice (Slovakia)