Norwegian champions Frisk Asker have yet to get a point through their first four games of play in a tough Group A and, unfortunately for them, things don’t look to get any easier for them in their last two games. They face a Tappara Tampere team that is taking no prisoners in the Finnish Liiga and needs all the points it can get in the Champions Hockey League.

Frisk Asker have not played badly in the Group Stage so far with a pair of one-goal defeats to EHC Biel-Bienne and a pair of shutout losses to KAC Klagenfurt – two teams currently battling for top spot in the group. In the Norwegian Ligaen they’ve been dominant, however, winning all seven games so far in regulation time and outscoring their opponents 24-11. Swede Hampus Gustafsson and Canadian Alex Lavoie each have nine points domestically, while in the CHL no player has more than one point. Swedish veteran Nicklas Dahlberg is their workhorse in goal.

Like Frisk Asker, Tappara have yet to be beaten domestically, as they’ve run roughshod over Liiga competition so far with 10 wins – nine of them in regulation time. They would like to continue that streak in the CHL because they really must win both remaining games to stand a good chance of advancing as they enter play trailing both Biel-Bienne and Klagenfurt by three points. Tyler Morley is their top scorer in the CHL with six points, while Miko Ojamäki has 14 Liiga points. Christian Heljenko is the team’s starting netminder.