When Oceláři Třinec and the Lahti Pelicans met last Friday in Finland, there wasn’t much to choose between the teams. Třinec put forth a solid effort on the road but ran into a hot goaltender in Tomi Karhunen, who made 46 saves for the shutout, including a save on a penalty shot halfway through the third period. Hannes Björninen scored the game’s only goal early in the third on a power play. Two days later, the Pelicans fell 5-4 in overtime to Lausanne HC while Třinec went on to Minsk and were again shut out, 2-0 by Yunost. That leaves Lahti second in Group D with four points and Třinec last with none.

As mentioned, not only have Třinec yet to record a point in this year‘s Champions Hockey League, but they’ve yet to score a goal. That somewhat mirrors last year’s start, but the big difference is last year they started at home and this year on the road. While they were shut out in both Lahti and Minsk, this veteran team surely feels that they are capable of beating both teams at Werk Arena. They will have to get some offence from some of their proven scorers like Martin Ružička, however. Defence isn’t a big concern, with both Patrik Bartošák and Petr Kváča providing the team with more than adequate goaltending so far.

Their two games in Lahti were the first two for the Pelicans in the CHL and they picked up four of six points. That’s not a bad start but in order to stay afloat they’ll need some points on the road as well, and that might be easier said than done, as they begin the trip against a team very experienced in this competition. The Pelicans had their hands full with Třinec at home but managed to shut them down, and an equally tenacious effort will be needed again. The team’s five goals have been scored by five different players and their big set-up man is off-season acquisition Juhamatti Aaltonen with four assists. He makes the Pelicans’ power play especially potent, so Třinec would best avoid unnecessary penalties.