Despite having the home ice advantage, Comarch Cracovia suffered their first loss in their long-awaited return to the CHL against newcomers Straubing Tigers with a final score of 4:0.

Yet, Cracovia have played some stellar hockey, resulting in sweeping up their first IIHF Continental Cup title earlier this year. They have also won 12 national titles and have three Polish Cups and three Super Cups to their name.

The Polish club will have to find a way to translate their domestic success onto the CHL arena if they wish to get past the Group stage.

Cracovia Head Coach Rudolf Roháček shared this about his team’s forthcoming match against Villach SV : “The Austrian team competes in a very strong league, ICE, which presents a higher level than the Polish Ekstraliga. With a stroke of luck and being in good shape, we can fight with them to get the points essential for our future in the CHL.”

Villach make their second CHL appearance after their debut back in 2014/15. After losing their first match of the 2022/23 season against Färjestad Karlstad at a staggering 7:0, the Austrian team will surely be looking to change the tide as they gear up for their second match in Group F.

Having been the runners-up back in their domestic league earlier this year, Villach is hoping to bring that fight to the CHL, with Head Coach Rob Daum sharing his team’s goals moving forward: “Obviously, our team wants to be successful in the preliminary round and advance, but at the very least the CHL games will prepare us very well for the beginning of our ICE season.”

When Daum was asked to comment on the other teams in Group F, he had this to say about Cracovia: “Consistently one of the top teams in Poland. For me this is the team I know the least about, but I know any team that qualifies for the CHL is a competitive team and it will be an interesting challenge to face a team we know little about.”

This will be the first time both teams meet on the ice. Be sure to tune in!