Bílí Tygři Liberec will look to forget their current Extraliga season when they take on the Växjö Lakers in the Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals.

Last season’s Czech President’s Trophy (regular season) winners find themselves currently 11th out of 14 teams in their own league, two points off avoiding the relegation round but with a game in hand. It’s nothing short of remarkable to consider that in reaching the CHL Semi-Finals, they’ve knocked out defending champions Frölunda and the ZSC Lions – especially after losing the first leg at home each time.

The White Tigers go into the game, however, having lost their last two games straight in the Extraliga. "It's definitely going to be different than our games in the group stage. We already know a thing or two about them, we have some tapes from our games and from their league games," said LGT Top Scorer, and CHL MVP nominee Martin Bakoš. "But it's the Semi-Finals, so anything can happen now. We aim to get a good result at home so we can fight for a spot in the Final in the return game."

The Lakers are undeniably Sweden’s top team at the moment, 13 points clear at the top of the SHL. However, they did lose their last game on the road to end a two-game winning streak.

The two sides met in the group stage, with the Lakers winning both games, including a 4-3 overtime win in Liberec on 24 August. Of course, they can be no overtime in the Semi-FInals.