European ice hockey season and Champions Hockey League

The Champions Hockey League season has commenced, featuring several Swiss clubs. HC Fribourg-Gottéron, the reigning Swiss champions, began their campaign with a 4-2 away victory against the Austrian champions Graz99ers. The match was tied 1-1 until the final period, when Yannick Rathgeb scored in the 54th minute to provide a 2-1 lead. Newcomer Anthony Richard subsequently extended the lead to 3-1. While Paul Huber scored a power-play goal for Graz99ers to bring the score to 2-3, Richard secured the win for the Swiss side with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

With this victory, Fribourg-Gottéron has won the first game of the season in five consecutive years. Their next matchup is scheduled against EC KAC at the Heidi Horten-Arena. EC KAC enters the contest following a narrow 2-1 overtime win against the Bordeaux Boxers and is looking for a significant performance increase to face the Swiss champions.

Other Swiss participants include HC Davos, which hosted Norway’s Storhamar, and Servette Genf, which hosted Berlin’s Eisbären. The tournament format involves 24 teams playing six preliminary round matches, with the top 16 advancing to the playoffs.

In related European ice hockey developments, EHC Kloten scheduled a season kick-off event and a test match against HC Lugano for September 10, 2026. Additionally, the Graz99ers marked their return to European competition after a seven-year absence.