From August 30, 2018, the Champions Hockey League will be held for the fifth time. Which German teams are involved? Where can I follow the tournament on screen? Which teams will compete against each other in the group phase? Here you can get all information about the most important competition for club teams in European ice hockey.
The Champions Hockey League is the highest competition in European club ice hockey. The CHL is something like the Champions League in football and has been held since 2014. Previously there had been the European Ice Hockey Cup (1965 to 1996), the European Hockey League (1996 to 2000) and the IIHF European Champions Cup (2005 to 2008).
The streaming service DAZN broadcasts all matches with German participation live. DAZN is available for 9,99 Euro per month, whereby the first month is free.
All matches of the German teams in the group phase and the knockout round as well as the semi-finals and the final can also be seen in SPORT1. However, it is still unclear which matches will run live on free TV on SPORT1, on the pay TV channel SPORT1+ or in the live stream on SPORT1.de.
32 teams are allowed to compete in the CHL. In Every vs. Every mode, the preliminary round will be played in eight groups of four. This means that each club has three home and three away matches. The top two teams in each group of four will advance to the round of 16, where the knockout stages of the quarter-finals and semi-finals will continue. Only the final will be played in only one game.
A total of 32 clubs from 13 leagues are participating. Out of the six so-called founding leagues between three and five teams may participate, out of the seven so-called challenger leagues one each. In addition, the winner of the IIHF Continental Cup (second-class European Cup) qualifies for the CHL.
EHC Red Bull Munich: The bulls from Oberwiesenfeld won the German championship in 2018 for the third time in a row. In a dramatic final series, coach Don Jackson’s team beat Berlin 4:3. This is the fourth time the Munich team has competed in the CHL. Up to now, the EHC has always survived the group stage, but then immediately retired in the round of 16.
Eisbären Berlin: Berliners just missed out on their first DEL title since 2013 last season and now a new man is behind the ranks of the capitals. After four years with the polar bears, Uwe Krupp moved to Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic. For the first German Stanley Cup Champion Clement Jodoin took over. The Canadian was already Krupp’s co-trainer last season. Like Munich, Berlin will be competing in the CHL for the fourth time. The record to date: One out in the group phase, two out in the round of 16.
Nuremberg Ice Tigers: The Franconians have had a great DEL season, even if it wasn’t enough for the finals once again. Nürnberg was third after the main round and failed in the semi-final with 2:4 because of Berlin. Nuremberg are represented in the Champions Hockey League for the first time and want to make surprises with the new coach Kevin Gaudet.
The round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final have not yet been scheduled.
Record winner of the Champions Hockey League is the Swedish club Frölunda HC from Gothenburg with two titles. Lulea HF from Sweden and the Finnish club JYP Jyväskylä also won the trophy once.