With a poor showing in the Champions League and a tough start to their DEL schedule, the Hamburg Freezers have made a coaching change, replacing Benoit Laporte with Serge Aubin.

Club news

"This was not an easy decision for us, as Benoit has done a good job in Hamburg in the past four years. He has a big reason the team reached the playoffs three seasons in a row and last year were able to make the semi-finals. We thank Benoit sincerely for his involvement in the Hamburg Freezers," managing director Uwe Frommhold said in a club-issued press release.

In four DEL games and five CHL games, Hamburg has yet to earn a point in either competition. In five Group K games, the Freezers have been out-scored 21-2. Things reached rock-bottom after a 3-1 defeat in Nottingham against the Panthers on Tuesday.

"We deserved 100 percent to lose here today," a disappointed Laporte said after that game. "For two periods we weren't even on the ice. There are no exceptions and no excuses. This simply can't happen."

"It's not just one thing, but many things which contributed to this decision," said Frommhold, adding that it was more the way the team lost than the record itself.

The new coach is 39-year-old Serge Aubin, who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League and also played professionally for three current CHL clubs - Geneve Servette, Fribourg-Gotteron and Hamburg. He has served as an assistant coach for the Freezers since retiring in 2013.

Aubin will be behind the bench for Hamburg's last CHL game at home against Nottingham on 7 October.