The 2015-16 edition of the Champions Hockey League (CHL) has begun with some big scores on the first date of games. There are 16 groups with 3 teams each and each team plays 4 games in the first round. Some traditional teams are in there such as Linkopings, Skelleftea, Adler Mannheim and KalPa to name a few. There are also teams from smaller, less hockey mad countries such as the Sheffield Steelers and Braehead Clan from the EIHL and Rapaces de Gap from France.
The three teams mentioned last fared differently in the first round with the two British teams being smashed 9-1 and 10-2 against Frolunda and Vaxjo. It is not a surprise when you consider the gap in funding between the teams. Rapaces de Gap fared better, they still lost but 5-4 against ZSC Lions.
Neman Grodno got their first win under their belt after a surprise win against Adler Mannheim. Grodno are from Belarus and qualified after winning the Continental Cup last year. Overall from the first round the away teams fared better, winning 9 of the 16 games on offer. Only one, between Fribourg and Lukko went to penalty shots. There is another round of games tonight and I'll be keeping an eye on the British teams. No-one expects them to win but if they can narrow the gap in their defeats then it is a start.
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