In November, the Champions Hockey League – Europe’s club championship that is played concurrently with domestic national leagues – played its round of 16 in the form of two-game, total-goal series. In it, the reigning champion ZSC Lions from Zurich were eliminated, meaning a new European champion will be crowned this season.
Eight teams now remain: three each from Finland and Sweden and one each from Germany and Switzerland. They will compete in the quarter-finals, which will be played over the first half of December.
The first legs of the quarter-finals will be played this Tuesday and Wednesday, 2 and 3 December, at the home of the lower-ranked team (except in one case, where arena availability necessitated a switch). All four return games are scheduled on 16 December, two weeks later.
No overtime will be played after the first-leg games, even if they are tied. If any series is tied on total goals after 120 minutes of hockey, a 10-minute, 3-on-3, sudden-death overtime period will be played, followed by a shootout, if necessary.
Eight teams move another step closer towards the European Trophy 🏆#ChampionsGoBeyond pic.twitter.com/32G3naOmUL
— Champions Hockey League (@championshockey) November 19, 2025
The quarter-final matchups are:
(1) Ilves Tampere FIN vs (9) Lulea Hockey SWE
Through eight games – six in the regular season and two in the round of 16 against the Pinguins Bremerhaven from Germany – Ilves remains the CHL’s lone team with a perfect record of eight regulation wins. However, the Finnish club’s task will get tougher in the quarter-finals against Swedish champion Lulea, which dispatched of Czech champion Kometa Brno in the last round.
Key players: Ilves – Lukas Jasek, Matic Torok, Simon Johansson, Dominik Pavlat; Lulea – Filip Eriksson, Brian O’Neill, Mathias Brome, Matteus Ward.
(2) KalPa Kuopio FIN vs (10) Brynas Gavle SWE
Other than Finnish rival Ilves, KalPa is the only other unbeaten team in the CHL, with its only blemishes being an overtime win in the regular season and a first-leg tie against Zurich in the round of 16. Like Ilves, their next task looks a lot harder against another Swedish powerhouse. With a lineup full of former and future NHLers, Brynas is coming off a comeback overtime win over Bern in the last round.
Key players: KalPa – Teemu Hartikainen, Konsta Kapanen, Cade Borchardt, Stefanos Lekkas; Brynas – Jakob Silfverberg, Nicklas Backstrom, Lucas Pettersson, Johannes Kinnvall, Damian Clara.
(3) Frolunda Gothenburg SWE vs (6) ERC Ingolstadt GER
Four-time CHL champion Frolunda, which lost only once in the regular season, faced a tougher-than-expected challenge from French champion Grenoble in the round of 16 but prevailed. With 32 goals, Ingolstadt is tied with Ilves and KalPa for the top-rated offence in the CHL and is coming off a victory over ICEHL champion Red Bull Salzburg. Riley Barber leads the CHL with 12 points and is tied for first with six goals.
Key players: Frolunda – Erik Thorell, Ivar Stenberg, Henrik Tommernes, Lars Johansson; Ingolstadt – Riley Barber, Kenny Agostino, Alex Breton, Devin Williams.
(5) Lukko Rauma FIN vs (13) EV Zug SUI
In the round of 16, star-studded Zug used a blazing start to get past fourth-seeded Sparta Prague. Up next is fifth-seeded Lukko, which has still lost only once in regulation through eight games and is coming off a victory over Norwegian champion Storhamar. With 10 points, Eric Gelinas is second in CHL scoring and first among defencemen.
These teams met in the last round of the regular season on 7 October – Lukko won 1-0 at home, with Antti Raanta posting the shutout. Despite being the higher seed, Lukko will start this series at home.
Key players: Lukko – Mikael Ruohomaa, Alex Beaucage, Eric Gelinas, Antti Raanta; Zug – Dominik Kubalik, Tomas Tatar, Gregory Hofmann, David Sklenicka, Leonardo Genoni.
The four quarter-final winners will advance to the semi-finals, which will be played 13 – 21 January using the same format as the quarters. The two semi-final winners advance to the one-game final, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 March, after the Olympic break.
Starting this season, CHL games are streamed on IIHF.tv. You can find more information about the availability of IIHF.tv streams here.
For the full schedule and more information about the competition, visit the Champions Hockey League website.