We take a look at a busy Christmas period for the four remaining CHL teams.

CHL News

It’s only just over a week until the first legs of this year’s Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals take place, but the four teams have been in action domestically over the festive period too. We take a look at how they’re looking.

It’s not been a particularly happy Christmas period for Sparta Prague, who lost both of their homes games between Christmas and New Year – going down on Boxing Day 3-2 to Pirati Chomutov, and then 3-0 to PSG Zlin two days later. Sparta it inside the league’s top six automatic quarter-final spots, but are only three points from falling out. That said, they also have a couple of games in hand on the sides above them as well.

Swiss side Fribourg-Gotteron remain two points adrift at the foot of the NLA, although would move off the bottom if they were to win their game in hand. A win in Kloten on 20 December was followed by losses to the ZSC Lions (1-4) and in Bern (4-3) as the NLA then took a break for the holiday season. Fribourg were back on the ice tonight, hosting the Kloten Flyers, whom they beat 4-2 to end their losing run, and move to .500 over the last four games.

Finally in the SHL, Frolunda Gothenburg continue to lead and currently find themselves some nine points clear at the top. The Indians had won four games in a row before losing to Djurgarden a day before New Year’s Eve. The Vaxjo Lakers, meanwhile, have now cemented themselves into the top three, six points clear of fourth-place HV71 Jonkoping, and are unbeaten in their last four games.