The first game to face off in the 2016-17 Champions Hockey League will be Vitkovice Ostrava hosting Karpat Oulu at Ostravar Arena.

The last couple seasons have been difficult for Vitkovice Ostrava, but with some new acquisitions they hope to become contenders again in the Czech Extraliga and in the CHL as well. Last year they qualified for the Round of 32 and gave Tappara Tampere, the eventual Finnish champions, all they could handle, losing just 3-2 on aggregate. Now they will try to cause trouble for another top Finnish club.

"This is the beginning of the season now," warns head coach Jakub Petr on the team website. "It's a competitive game and it's true that we are begin visited by a great team which, according to information we have, is currently one of the best in Europe. So it's a great occasion for the whole club and for our fans it should be too."

Karpat Oulu's two-year reign as Finnish champions came to an end last season, but they haven't slipped very far and will be considered one of this season's top contenders. In the CHL they've made it to the final four each season, hosting last year's Final, which they lost 2-1 to Frolunda Gothenburg. They are favourites to win Group E and go far again in the European competition. 

Karpat will play both away games in quick succession, moving on to Krefeld on Thursday. "This is a great thing that will play these two games on the same trip," head coach Kai Suikkanen told the team website. "There will be tough games through to this stage, which is obviously a great thing. Of course, from a coaching point of view it would have been nice if we had a little bit longer to train. Vitkovice has had time to play, for example, already five pre-season games and we've only had two. However, that's the situation, and the team will play to its fullest tonight."