SaiPa in tough vs own league champs

SaiPa take on Tappara in one of two all-Finnish match-ups this round. While SaiPa enter as the seeded team by virtue of winning their group, most observers will probably pick Tappara as the favourites. The defending Finnish champs under-performed in the group stage with a high roster turnover in the off-season, but are off to a good start domestically, topping the league standings heading into the Round of 32. SaiPa, on the other hand, have struggled and sit 11th. These teams have met once so far in Liiga play, with Tappara winning 5-3 in Lappeenranta on 20 September. The familiarity between these two teams should make this an interesting two-game set. 

In their return to the CHL this season, SaiPa were nearly perfect in the group stage, dropping only one point and finishing with 11 to win Group I easily. They got off to an excellent start with a pair of 4-2 road wins in Berlin and Lulea. They got off to a slow start in their home debut against Lulea and fell down a couple goals, but rallied to tie it in the third period and eventually won in a shootout, 3-2. They then sealed the group win by beating Eisbaren 6-3. SaiPa showed an impressive combination of solid defence and timely scoring in the group stage, and they will have to continue that if they want to advance past their own league champions in the next round. 

Tappara were expected to in their group, but were plagued by a lack of scoring, finding the net only seven times in four games. They started out with a mildly surprising 4-1 loss in Mannheim, but responded wth a solid 3-1 win in Lugano. It looked like they were on their way and would clean up at home, but were beaten by Lugano by the same 3-1 score, leaving them needing a regulation win in their last game in order to advance. Against Mannheim, they got off to a fast start – scoring twice in the first period – then barely escaped with a 2-1 win. They're still alive, but know they'll have to be better if they hope to go any further. They're off to a good start domestically, though, and a month of league play, they should be ready to take on one of their Liiga opponents in early October.

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