Salzburg-Bern a clash of 2 reigning league champions

This is the only Round of 32 match-up that will be contested between two reigning national champions – SC Bern of Switzerland and Red Bull Salzburg of Austria. Neither are setting their respective leagues ablaze at this point of the regular season, but it's still very early.

Bern were dominant in their group, handling their Slovakian an Austrian opponents with relative ease. However, Salzburg is certainly a step above Black Wings Linz on the EBEL totem pole, so this will be their biggest challenge yet. In the early part of their regular season, Bern have suffered some injuries to some key players, but they also have last year's CHL MVP Ryan Lasch added to their lineup, so they won't be without firepower. Firepower is also something that Salzburg is not lacking, so this should be an entertaining series – but not necessarily a high-scoring one, with Leonardo Genoni and Bernhard Starkbaum manning the nets. With several North Americans on each roster, it could be a physical one as well. Bern should definitely have an advantage with their defence and overall team depth, so they will start as slight favourites.

SC Bern did not make much of an impression in either of their first two CHL seasons, but coming off a domestic title win this past spring, they were looking for more this year and, so far they've done it. They began their group play with a pair of wins in Kosice and Linz by scores of 6-3 and 3-1 to take immediate control of their group. They didn't let up once they got home, beating the same two teams 3-1 and 5-0 at PostFinance Arena. Kari Jalonen, an experienced international coach, has his charges playing a disciplined team game and it's paid off so far. Now they face a team that will test both their discipline and defensive play in Red Bull Salzburg. If they can get past the Austrian champs, they will be in the CHL's Round of 16 for the first time. 

The perennial Austrian champs, Red Bull Salzburg are trying to make their mark in Europe. They made a big statement in their opening game this year with a big 8-1 win over the visiting Sheffield Steelers, then engaged HV71 Jonkoping in a pair of close, physical contests. It was the third year in a row the two teams had met in the CHL group stage, and they split the two games this year, with HV71 winning 5-2 in Salzburg and the Red Bulls triumphing 2-1 in Jonkoping. By winning the aggregate, however, HV71 claimed top spot in the group. With nothing at stake, they lost their last game in Sheffield, 5-2. Now the Red Bulls want to do something they've never done before – win an elimination series in the CHL. They infamously lost their Round of 16 series against Lulea Hockey two years ago after blowing a five-goal lead on aggregate, and they would love to exorcise those demons against SC Bern.

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