Through their first five showings of the 2022/23 Champions Hockey League, Fribourg-Gottéron have earned four wins. Of those four wins, three have been shutouts; of those three shutouts, Connor Hughes has captured two. Now in his second CHL appearance, Hughes has been unstoppable, stopping 82 of 83 shots and posting a 2-1 record.
His only blemish? A 1-0 loss to the Stavanger Oilers in their Game Day 2 contest. However, since letting in one against the Norwegians, the Canadian has been a brick wall and has a 98.81 SV% and 0.34 GAA to prove it.
We have the next game next week and we have to get the job done again.Fribourg-Gottéron's Connor Hughes
In their recent tilt against Red Bull Salzburg, Hughes again displayed his poise in net denying all 27 chances the Austrians fired his way in a 1-0 victory and cementing Fribourg’s spot in the Round of 16.
“That’s a good team, they’re built to win so we had to come out strong,” said Hughes when asked about what went into preparing for Salzburg.
With the win, Fribourg have guaranteed their place in the CHL postseason, but first a rematch against Salzburg is on tap and Hughes knows he and his teammates aren't out of the woods yet. “We just have to keep going. We’re not going to let up even though we qualified.”
Entering their match-up, Fribourg and Salzburg were one and two in the standings, respectively, and despite not doing so well in their domestic league, the Swiss were confident in their abilities and were looking to stay competitive and produce results.
“We haven’t been that great in the regular season so far,” said Hughes, “so for us it was all about battling tonight and we got the job done.”
That battle included facing Salzburg's tenth-ranked powerplay and first-ranked penalty kill in a chess match which saw both clubs showcase their strengths for the full 60 minutes. The Austrians had their legs going early, but Hughes managed to weather the storm before his club started pushing back.
The middle stanza began much the same with Hughes admitting that, "the second period wasn’t so great," but it was his team who would go on to score the lone goal of the game when Janne Kuokkanen pounced on a loose puck in the crease.
They’re a good team and every time we play in front of our fans we have to come out 110%.Hughes on playing at home
As Fribourg prepare to host Salzburg in Switzerland, Hughes understands the task at hand and the importance of putting their best foot forward in front of their home crowd.
When asked how he and his teammates plan to approach their rematch with Salzburg on home ice, Hughes was quick to give credit to his opponents but assure the fans that Fribourg will come to play saying, “Every time we play in front of our fans we have to come out 110%.”