Pardubice Opens Champions Hockey League Playoff Against SaiPa
SaiPa and Pardubice open their Champions Hockey League playoff campaign on Wednesday at 17:30 in Lappeenranta, marking the start of the round of sixteen for Czech clubs.
- Pardubice opens its Champions Hockey League playoff series away against Finnish club SaiPa on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at 17:30.
- The match represents a rematch of the group stage, where SaiPa handed Dynamo its sole defeat in the competition with a 2-3 scoreline.
- Broadcast options for the fixture include live coverage on Sport 1 and streaming services through Tipsport.
Journey to the Finnish Playoffs
Dynamo Pardubice returns to Finland after winning the group stage and securing a spot in the knockout rounds. The Czech squad enters the match following a pair of domestic victories over Karlovy Vary and Mladá Boleslav that halted a three-game skid. Forward Lukáš Sedlák leads the team in European scoring with seven points despite his current long-term absence due to injury. Jáchym Kondelík follows closely with six goals, while goaltender Roman Will boasts a 95.65 percent save percentage across three appearances.
Dynamo is in a different situation compared to Liberec, tackling a considerably tougher road trip while drawing on fresh familiarity from having played round 3 of the regular season in Lappeenranta.
Czech defenseman Ondřej Trejbal and national team forward Petr Fridrich also joined the roster for the Nocco Hockey Games. Bookmakers slightly favor Dynamo heading into the matchup, whereas Liberec enters as a slight underdog, with neither encounter carrying a clear standout favorite according to betting odds.
Previous Group Stage Encounter
SaiPa stands as the sole opponent to defeat Pardubice during the tournament’s preliminary phase, securing a narrow 2-3 victory after overcoming a three-goal deficit. In the domestic league, the team recently suffered consecutive losses against JYP and Pelicans following a five-game winning streak. Their prior European outing concluded with a 3-6 defeat against another Czech representative, Plzeň. Plzeň previously secured a 6-3 victory over SaiPa in Finland.
Watch SaiPa Versus Pardubice on TV or Online
Fans seeking to follow the opening match live can tune in via paid television channels or online platforms. Sport 1 will broadcast the SaiPa versus Pardubice fixture, with subsequent coverage extending to the Swiss derby between Servette and Fribourg.
Viewers preferring digital platforms can utilize streams provided by Tipsport, which offers introductory access alongside betting community features. Alternative providers such as Oneplay list the encounter under specific sports tariffs. Bookmakers price the SaiPa-Pardubice matchup at 2.61, 4.52, and 2.12, while the Cologne-Liberec fixture is listed at 2.11, 4.57, and 2.60.
Liberec Faces Cologne in Germany
Bílí Tygři Liberec travels to Germany to face Kölner Haie at the LANXESS Arena on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at 19:30, after returning to the Champions Hockey League after six years. The German side finished third in the group stage after winning four out of five matches, losing only to Genève-Servette in overtime. Kölner Haie opened their international campaign with a 5-4 overtime win against Tappara, defeated Frölunda 5-2, beat Klagenfurt 3-1, shut out Herning 3:0, and closed the preliminary round with a 3-4 overtime defeat against Geneva. Kölner Haie’s top forward line features Marcel Noebels, Ryan MacLeod, and Carter Russell, a trio combining for 33 points across six CHL games and 50 points over 15 domestic DEL matches. Marcel Noebels stands out as Germany’s third-highest scorer in the DEL and topped the Champions Hockey League scoring race in the preliminary round, having appeared in all but one team match and going scoreless only four times.
Liberec endured a difficult start to the regular season before a late four-game winning sequence against Herning, Graz, Frölunda, and Davos propelled them into the playoffs. V tuzemské soutěži tým prohrál z posledních čtyř zápasů jen jednou 2:4 s Kladnem a na domácím ledě drží pětizápasovou šňůru neporazitelnosti. Captain Radim Šimek enters the contest on strong form, posting five points across his past two matches, assisting on both goals against Kladno, accumulating 12 points in 15 extraliga appearances, and contributing two assists in six CHL matches.
The two clubs last met twelve years ago during the 2014/15 CHL season under a different group-stage format, where Liberec won 4-1 away and 2-1 at home with goals from Petr Jelínek and Tomáš Bulík, though neither team reached the playoffs at the time.
“Musíme být především zodpovědní v obraně, protože každý gól se v konečném součtu obou zápasů počítá,” said Radan Lenc.
| Matchup | Date | Time | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaiPa – Pardubice | November 11, 2026 | 17:30 | Sport 1, Tipsport |
| Kolín n. R. – Liberec | November 11, 2026 | 19:30 | Sport 2, Tipsport |
| Servette – Fribourg | November 11, 2026 | 19:45 | Sport 1 |
Deciding matches for the round of sixteen will take place during the following week on Tuesday and Wednesday to determine the advancing quarterfinalists. Tuesday, November 17, 2026, hosts five second-leg games starting with Bílí Tygři Liberec against Kölner Haie at 15:00, followed by Tappara Tampere versus Adler Mannheim and HC Škoda Plzeň against HC Davos at 17:30, alongside Skellefteå AIK versus Rögle Ängelholm and Frölunda Gothenburg against Växjö Lakers at 19:00.
Wednesday, November 18, 2026, concludes the round with Dynamo Pardubice hosting SaiPa Lappeenranta at 18:00, Eisbären Berlin playing KooKoo Kouvola at 19:30, and Fribourg-Gottéron facing Genève-Servette at 19:45.
