This week we have another two Champions Hockey League Flashback games for you to enjoy and starting us off is the return leg of a heated Round of 16 duel from 2016/17, that had to go to OT to determine a series winner. The two teams in question? Swiss giants ZSC Lions and fellow countrymen HC Lugano. Join us as we go back in time to relive the drama!
HC Lugano earned their first ever appearance in the CHL thanks to an impressive domestic run the year prior that led them all the way to the Swiss NLA Championship Finals. Despite losing the Championship to fellow CHL club SC Bern that year, they had a strong roster and started their CHL career with an important away win against Adler Mannheim, followed by a win and a loss to Tappara Tampere and an OT win against Mannheim in their final group stage game to qualify for the Playoffs from second place in their group.
The Round of 32 pitted them against Czech side HC Pilsen. A big home win and impressive 3-3 draw away moved them onto the Round of 16 where they drew fellow countrymen ZSC Lions.
Unlike Lugano, ZSC already had two CHL seasons under their belt and were a feared opponent in the league. They convincingly won their Group and breezed through the Round of 32 unbeaten to face Lugano as one of the strongest teams of the season.
The first leg, played on Lugano’s home ice, was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. ZSC scored two goals in the first period to get the early lead but Lugano fought back and scored three within the next 20 minutes to get the upper hand in the game. Despite all of ZSC’s efforts to fight back, Lugano held on to their lead and saw the game out to the final buzzer. Their 3-2 win had inflicted ZSC’s first defeat of the season and their style of play proved a real headache for the Zurich based team, yet their one goal lead in the series was a slim one and everything was still up for grabs in the return leg in Zurich. Who came out on top and made the Quarter-Finals? Did Lugano hold on to their one goal lead or did ZSC edge past them?
Find out tonight! Tune in at 19:00 CET to catch the game LIVE!