More domestic action over the past week as the CHL's next round moves nearer.

by Luke Fisher

With the Champions Hockey League on a three-week hiatus, the teams competing in the CHL Round of 16 continued their domestic schedules this past week as the next European matchday draws closer. We take a look at their current situations in their own leagues.

ZSC Lions Zurich continue to lead the Swiss NLA after 17 games, tied in with EV Zug, who went out of the CHL in the last round. The Lions haven't lost in five as they face fellow CHL Round of 16 side SC Bern tonight in Zurich. Bern are fourth in the league, and within touching distance of the top three, especially if they win games in hand. HC Lugano sit mid-table, while Fribourg-Gotteron had a good run of wins ended over the weekend but have moved up a place to 10th.

In Germany, the sole surviving team in the CHL, Eisbaren Berlin, had wins over Augsburg and Adler Mannheim over the weekend to keep themselves fifth in the table. Grizzlys Wolfsburg, who went out in the Round of 32, have moved into top spot in the DEL after some excellent recent form, although they have played a game more than Kolner Haie below them. Over in the Czech Republic, Sparta Prague stay in the top four thanks to a win over Dynamo Pardubice on home ice, while three wins on the spin have propelled Bili Tygri Liberec up to sixth. The other remaining CHL club, Vitkovice Ostrava, sit 10th out of 14, having losing in Chomutov after two straight wins.

Finland's Liiga continues to be led by Tappara Tampere, with SaiPa Lappeenranta still the highest-placed team left in the CHL in third – four points behind the Tampere club. IFK Helsinki are down in eighth, while JYP Jyvaskyla are further back in 11th after two straight losses. SaiPa have finally run into some decent from, and thanks to three wins in the last four climb up to 13th in the 15-team league – something that makes their excellent CHL run all the more impressive. Finally in Sweden, Frolunda Gothenburg have brought the gap on league leaders Malmo Redhawks back to a point with three wins on the spin, most recently over Skelleftea AIK. A couple of defeats in their last few games see HV71 Jonkoping down to sixth at the moment, losing their last match to Lulea Hockey, who went out of the CHL in the group stage. Linkoping HC and the Vaxjo Lakers occupy places nine and 10, respectively, with the latter having taken a tumble of late, winning only one of their last seven SHL contests.

Teams are back in league action this week, with the CHL Round of 16 first-leg clashes taking place a week tomorrow!