A 5-0 victory in the First Game and a 7-4 decision in the Return Game have kept Genève-Servette's hopes of a Championship repeat alive as they moved on to the Quarter-Finals after overpowering fellow Swiss club Lausanne HC in their Round of 16 match-up.

On the opposing bench, Pinguins Bremerhaven were equally dominant in their 10-1 aggregate win over Swedish heavyweights Skellefteå AIK in their two-game series. This will be the second meeting between these two teams; they battled on Game Day 1 in a close contest that saw the Germans skate away with a 3-2 win.

Genève would go on to follow up their loss to Bremerhaven with another defeat at the hands of the Lahti Pelicans, but have since been one of the most productive teams in the CHL, scoring four or more goals in six out of eight games this season. Michael Špaček has been at the forefront of this scoring effort and currently leads the league in goals with seven to go along with five assists for 12 points in eight games played.

Two other players on the Swiss' roster are also playing at a point-per-game pace in Sakari Manninen (1G, 7A) and Simon Le Coultre (2G, 6A), and the team possess one of the better netminders in newcomer and former NHLer Antti Raanta who, through two games, has allowed two goals on 55 shots and has amassed a 96.36 SV% and a 1.00 GAA to go along with one shutout which he secured in the First Game against Lausanne.

The Swiss side now have the opportunity to take some redemption against Bremerhaven and to do this, they'll need to solidify their position in net. Fortunately, despite his small sample size, Raanta seems to be their guy and has proven himself as a reliable option. Furthermore, their penalty kill which is operating 92.59%, good for first place in the league, should inspire confidence going up against the Germans' third-ranked powerplay.

Bremerhaven finished the Regular Season in 11th place, but a strong Round of 16 performance against Skellefteå should quiet any critics of the German club. Helping their cause against the Swedes was their defence which is currently tied with Red Bull Salzburg for second in the league, only allowing 1.75 goals against per game. Spearheading their effort on the backend is four-time CHLer Phillip Bruggisser and three-time veteran Matthew Abt. Bruggisser holds six points (1G, 5A) through eight games and Abt enters the Quarter-Finals with six points (2G, 4A) in as many games played - Bruggisser also leads the team in TOI with 19:48, while Abt is second with 19:47.

Fortunately, they also boast one of the better backstops in Maximilian Franzreb who comes into the contest with a 3-1 record, a 95.41 SV% and a 1.24 GAA. His save percentage has him third in the league just behind Raanta, with Franzreb having suited up for two more games. 

Maintaining that dominant defence against an offensively-gifted team in Genève will be of utmost importance going forward for the Germans who are ready to show Europe they can topple the reigning CHL Champions for a second time this season. While for Genève, this is a do-or-die series as the Swiss club seek to clinch the European Trophy for a second time in just as many seasons.