- Playing to their identity will pay dividends to Salzburg
- Simplifying things could lead to a good start for Oświęcim
- The Polish side have yet to secure a win
After dropping their first game in OT against Ilves Tampere, Polish side Unia Oświęcim were handed their second loss by Eisbären Berlin, a 4-1 decision that saw Oświęcim give up 49 shots to their German opponents. Meanwhile, Red Bull Salzburg rebounded from their disappointing loss on Game Day 1 to take a 6-2 victory against SønderjyskE Vojens.
While their first showing didn't go to plan, Salzburg's second game was much more in line with what we've come to expect from the nine-time CHL participants. They played an aggressive game that saw them outshoot their opponents 43-25, and they used their scoring power on the man-advantage to great effect, notching three straight powerplay tallies.
As they look ahead to their contest against Oświęcim, the Austrians need only stick to their identity as a tough-to-play-against team with numerous scoring options. So far through two games, Salzburg boast a couple of players who are among league leaders in scoring - Benjamin Nissner with four assists and Peter Schneider who has four points (2G, 2A).
On the opposing bench, Oświęcim are still looking for their identity. Though they put up a strong performance in their initial effort against Ilves, it was their game against Berlin which highlighted their struggles. In that contest, the Polish side was unable to maintain a 60-minute effort and following their first-period tally, failed to create any danger in the offensive zone.
Looking ahead, Oświęcim will need to simplify their game. RIght now, the club are ranked among the worst in goals for per game with only an average of 1.00. Finding ways to find the net should be their priority and to do this, they'll need to fire more shots on goal. In their first game against Ilves, they only produced 14 while in their game against Berlin, they managed 17.