CHL Preliminary Report: EHC Red Bull München as guests of Färjestad Karlstad

Monday, 16. October 2023 | CHL Preliminary Report: EHC Red Bull München as guests of Färjestad Karlstad

Sweden calling! Red Bulls close CHL preliminary round in KarlstadMunich as a guest in the sunny city// CHL - PRELIMINARY REPORTDirectly from Berlin, EHC Red Bull München travels to Scandinavia. In the Champions League, the sixth and final group game at Färjestad Karlstad is scheduled for Tuesday evening (19:00 | live in our blog).

The starting position before the match is clear: Both Munich and Karlstad have already qualified for the knockout phase of the top flight. The Red Bulls are seventh in the table with ten points, the Swedish top team has collected eleven points so far and is fifth. While our guys recently suffered a defeat in the last CHL game against Lukko Rauma, Färjestad is on three consecutive wins. Both teams can no longer fall out of the top-16.

The round of 16 duels in the Champions League begin on November 14. The overall table of the preliminary round counts as the seedings. This means that the first team will meet the 16th, the second the 15th, the third the 14th, and so on. Our opponent will be determined on Wednesday evening at the latest. The round of 16 will be played as usual with a first leg and a second leg.

Technically and Skaterically Top

Färjestad BK has won ten national championships since 1956, making it one of the country's most successful teams. The last time the club was crowned SHL champion was in 2022. The current season is going very well for Head Coach Tomas Mitell's team so far. After the first ten games, the Green-Whites are leading the Swedish top league. The game is characterized by high tempo and technical strength.

The lineup is almost exclusively made up of homegrown players. Only goalkeeper Maxime Lagacé, defenseman Jérémy Groleau (both Canada) and attacker David Tomášek (Czech Republic) are not from Sweden. Striker Marcus Nilsson (one goal, nine assists) is currently one of Sweden's top point scorers, and the 32-year-old has provided three assists in the Champions League so far. Last year's top scorer Joakim Nygård (19 goals, 23 assists) played two years with Leon Draisaitl for the Edmonton Oilers.

Winkler as backup goalie, Blum as scorer against Red Bulls

Already in the 2019/20 season, Red Bull München and Färjestad Karlstad faced each other in the group stage of the top division. Unforgettable: Christian Winkler (Managing Director Sports Red Bull Ice Hockey) had to sit on the bench as a substitute goalkeeper. What happened? Our number 2 goalie at the time, Daniel Fießinger, had dropped out at short notice.

In order to start the game with two goalies in accordance with the CHL guidelines, Winkler, who played for SC Riessersee among others in his playing days, was re-licensed without further ado.

Winkler did not play, the Swedes won their home game 3:1 - also thanks to Jonathon Blum. Our current number 24 was still playing for Färjestad at the time and scored to give us a 2-1 lead in the interim. However, the match in Sweden was only of statistical value for us, as Munich had already been determined as group winner before this last preliminary round match.

CHL record against Färjestad BK

Wins: 1 Defeats: 1 Win rate: 50 percent Goal difference: 3:4 Last game: FBK vs. RBM 3:1 Last two games: S N