Reigning Champions Frölunda Gothenburg host BK Mladá Boleslav in their first of a series of two home games this week. The Swedes first faced the Czechs on Game Day 1, beating them 4-1 to earn their first win of the season. Mladá Boleslav were second best on the night but managed to knock one back in the final period.

Frölunda have had a mixed start to their seventh season in the Champions Hockey League, after beating Mladá Boleslav, they travelled to Switzerland’s largest city Zurich to face the ZSC Lions Zurich.

The four-time CHL Champs scored the opening goal of the game but racked up a colossal 35 penalty minutes as Zurich enjoyed five powerplays, from which they punished Frölunda with two goals. The Swiss also outshot them 38 to 20 and won ten more faceoffs than the hosts. All in all, a forgettable performance from Frölunda and three big points dropped.

This is all the more motivation to get back to winning ways against Mladá Boleslav, especially on home ice. If Frölunda manage to keep their composure and keep penalty minutes to a minimum, they could have another comfortable game against a familiar opponent.

After a disappointing season-opener, the Czech Extraliga semi-finalists from last season hosted IFK Helsinki. Jakub Kotala scored just three minutes in as the Czechs had an amazing first half of the game, playing on the puck, winning faceoffs and having big chances on goal. A late second period equaliser from the Finns on the powerplay was enough to drag the game into OT where they added their game-winning second to rob the Czechs of the extra point.

Despite the result, Mladá Boleslav had a much better game than against Frölunda on Game Day 1 and showed they can improve in all the key areas when necessary. They outshot the Finns, won more faceoffs, kept penalty minutes down and weren’t afraid to play hands-on, blocking 11 shots and recording five hits.

They will certainly give Frölunda a run for their money during their second encounter of the season!