Tonight, Tuesday 4 December sees the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions Hockey League with four fixtures featuring three Swedish teams:

Kometa Brno (CZE) v Frölunda Indians (SWE)

Skellefteå AIK (SWE) v HC Pilsen (CZE)

Red Bull Munich (GER) v Malmö Redhawks (SWE)

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Kärpät Oulu (FIN)

Tonight’s match will be played at the first team’s rink and the second leg will be next Tuesday, 11 December.

The first two games sees Sweden verses Czech Republic in matches that could go either way. I’m backing Frölunda Indians to take the series against Kometa Brno because they’ve got experience of what it takes to win the CHL and whilst not playing their best hockey, are still getting results in the SHL. Look out for young Samuel Fagemo of Frölunda trying to assert his rights in the Junior Worlds team and get drafted by in the NHL.

Despite undoubted talent, Skellefteå AIK are struggling and lie in 10th place in the SHL. Whilst Skellefteå can excel in the heat of playoff hockey, they have not done so in the CHL before. Together with the fact that HC Pilsen have not lost in the CHL at all means the Czech team will take the series. Look out for Pilsen’s talented Milan Gulas who has played in Sweden for Färjestad.

The third match sees one of my non-Nordic tips for the CHL, Red Bull Munich take on Malmö Redhawks. Had I not seen the Swedish team play, I would rate the Germans chances as high as on paper the Redhawks have no standout players. But the fact is they are playing brilliantly and I think will win the series easily against Munich. Look out for Emil Sylvegård (photo) agitating the Munich backs in front of goal and hard forechecks in the offensive zone.

The final game contains no Swedes but the only Austrian and Finnish sides left in the tournament. Red Bull Salzburg will surely be outclassed by the Finnish league leaders. Whilst Red Bull lie in fourth the EBEL, Kärpät Oulu are 11 points clear at the top of Liiga and have only lost 4 games all season. Look out for their NHL drafted pair of Aleksi Heponiemi and Rasmus Kupari who will be trying to impress the national and international crowds.

5. HV71

In fifth place, the club from Jönköping have had a difficult month losing all their matches except that against struggling SDE Hockey. The team is not lacking experienced talent with Olympians, Riikka Välilä (FIN, 45 yrs), Jenni Asserholt (SWE, 30 yrs), Fanny Rask (SWE, 27 yrs) and Sabrina Zollinger (SWI, 25yrs) in the squad. But they also have some of the younger, new generation of SDHL players in Sanni Hakala (FIN, 21 yrs) and Ohio State University's Claudia Kepler (USA, 23 yrs). Finnish duo Hakala and Välilä leads the team in points with 24 whilst they have a Spanish goaltender, Alba Gonzalo who is doing a great job at the back with a 92.69 SVS%. However, despite all that stand out talent, the light in a dark November for the club may have been 23 year old Maja Jakobsson. A relative unknown, she has managed 2 goals and 4 assists in November and will be a welcome addition to the team already ahead of Asserholt and Zollinger in Total Points.

4. Leksand IF

Leksand IF won six of eight matches in October. But November started with a double defeat to MODO Hockey including not scoring at all in their home match. They have however licked their wounds and come out and won their next two matches to retain fourth in the table. Their stand out scorers are still Swedish double Olympian, Anna Borgqvist and former Calgary Inferno forward and Canadian Danielle Stone. But it was young assistant captain and defender Maja Nyhlén Persson and the experienced forward, Sofia Engström who were selected for Swedish national team. 30 year old Engström had not played an international match for four years before the Four Nations Cup. However, all eyes were on Nyhlén Persson, who only turned 18 on the 20 November. Having already impressed at the Pyeongchang Olympics earlier this year, she again made her mark on the international stage with two assists in four games. She could well be playing hockey in NCAA next year.

3. Linköping HC

Linköping have also had a month without a loss and managed to hold shutouts against the bottom two teams in the league, SDE Hockey and Göteborg HC. They are the highest scoring team in the league and it shows in Total Points where Lara Stalder, Kennedy Marchment and Pernilla Winberg lie in second, third and fifth with 105 points between them. 21 year old Canadian, Marchment, was selected #2 overall in the 2017 NWHL draft by Buffalo Beauts and the talent shows - she is currently the league's top goal scorer with 20 in just 23 games. Meanwhile American import, Sidney Morin lies in second behind Hiirikoski in the league's top scoring defenders.

2. Luleå/ MSSK

Luleå have still played significantly less matches than their rivals, but nonetheless continue to win despite having last year's top scorer, Michelle Karvinen out of action due to an undisclosed injury. That leaves captain and the league's top scoring defender, Jenni Hiirikoski to lead out the team with 33 points (10G+23A). Meanwhile fellow Finnish international Noora Tulus and Swedish forward, Emma Nordin lie in second and third on the team's internal points competition whilst Karvinen recovers. If they can win the six games they have in hand over MODO they should easily take the championship. And that is not impossible, this is a team that has only lost once since 7 October, and even in that game they managed took home a point after only losing in Overtime to Linköping HC. Netminder Sara Grahn continues to lead the league with a 95,05 SVS%.

1. MODO Hockey

Over half the regular season has gone and as it was at the end of October, MODO Hockey lead the SDHL into December. The team relies on their Canadian imports to score than their opponents and so far it's working. with former Toronto Furies forward, Michela Cava leading the way in the whole league with 41 points (18G+23A). Behind her Kaitlyn Tougas, Lauren Wildfang, Brooke Boquist and Breanne Wilson-Bennett all in the top 20 in Total Points with an incredible 138 points between them. Sadly, Wilson-Bennett is out indefinitely having been taken out of the rink by an ambulance after falling head first into the boards after a tackle from behind on 18 November.

The top five clubs continue to have distinct points advantage over the five below them with 20 points separating 5th and 8th position. But within the top half it is tight - positions 2 to 5 are only separated by 6 points. This elite group of five, however, could soon be joined by sixth placed Djurgården IF who managed 8 wins in a row between 17 October and 24 November. Read on to find out more about the teams in positions 2 to 5.

The Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL) has many North Americans and former NCAA/ USports graduates in the line ups. But I am also seeing another trend - at least four of them are sitting out injured.

Jennifer Wakefield, Brynäs IF

Her illustrious career includes playing at University of Hampshire, University of Boston and the CWHL’s Toronto Furies, as well as being a Gold and Silver medalists with Canada in both World Cup and the Olympics. But the 29 year old has only managed two matches for new club Brynäs IF, before she sustained concussion when she was on the receiving end of an open ice hit in a match against HV71 on 21 September. It was Wakefield's fourth concussion in her career and her return date is unknown. Swiss Olympian Sabrina Zollinger was given a four match suspension for the hit whilst her manager seemed to imply it was Wakefield's fault because "she's known for playing dirty".

Breanne Wilson-Bennett, MODO Hockey

The 22 year old Canadian is in her first season with current league leader. But she was checked from behind into the boards by Louise Norberg Tegelin and lay on the ice for 20 minutes until she was lifted off via an ambulance. Fortunately, they have ruled out a fracture but the Canadian has concussion and it is uncertain when the University of Colgate graduate will return. AIK player, Norberg Tegelin received a four match ban following the match penalty she received during the game on 18 November.

Marion Allemoz, MODO Hockey

An unconfirmed report says that Wilson Bennett’s team mate, French captain, Marion Allemoz is also out until at least Christmas after an injury sustained during international duty. The former University of Montreal student and CWHL’s Montreal Canadiennes player has missed four games and has not played since 11 November and has been replaced by 16 year old Amanda Ahlm.

Michelle Karvinen, Luleå HF

The final player who is confirmed out injured in the SDHL's top scorer from last year, Finnish super forward Michelle Karvinen. The 29 year old former University of North Dakota player has missed six games for Luleå HF and even though she travelled with the Finnish team to the Four Nation’s Cup she did not play a single minute for the team she represented at the Winter Olympics in 2018. The club have confirmed an injury but are not sharing its nature but saying that it important that we "take a long term picture".

Whether this marks a trend where talented players are being given "special treatment" by the opposition, or whether it is just the nature of a competitiveness, contact sport is up for debate. But hopefully we can see more of the best players in the sport doing their magic on the ice rather than reading headlines about their injuries as the season goes on.

Tuesday night saw the second leg of the Round of 16 decide who will go through to the quarterfinals of this year's Champions Hockey League. Below is a match by match review.

As suggested in my pre-match review, all the teams that had significant leads in the first round succeeded in finishing off what they started. That meant victories for Kometa Brno, HC Pilsen and Malmö Redhawks.

Brno's opponents Tappara Tampere managed to take a 2-0 lead and score 5 goals at home to make up for a disappointing first match, but the Czech club fought their way back scoring 5 goals themselves on the night.

HC Pilsen crushed any notion of a miraclous comeback by Bolzano Foxes with a brutal 4-0 lead after only 25:29 played in the Czech Republic. Three of those four goals were scored by former Färjestad BK points machine, Milan Gulaš. The 32 year old Czech player added another goal in the 6-2 demolition of the Italian EBEL champions.

Malmö played it tight away from home at SC Bern and protected their 4-1 victory from the first match. Netminder Oscar Alsenfelt held a shutout and the only goal in Switzerland was scored by Stefan Warg (pictured) when he landed the empty netter with just 1:42 left of the clock.

American Ryan Lasch took over at the top of the Points Scorer's leaderboard with 2 Goals and 2 Assists as he helped Frölunda Indians come back from a 1-3 deficit at 32:25 to beat Swiss HC Lugano 5-4 in Sweden.

The third Swiss side in the competition EV Zug came into their home match against Red Bull Munich with one goal advantage after the first game. But the Germans provided perhaps the biggest shock of the Playoffs so far with a 2-0 regulation win. Not surprisingly, it was one of the five German Olympic silver medalists in the team, Frank Mauer who scored the winning goal with just under six minutes to go in the tie.

Meanwhile across the border in Austria, Red Bull Salzburg made no doubt about their passageway into the quarterfinals finals finishing off French hopefuls Rouen Dragons 5-1. Canadian forward, John Hughes notching up three assists on the night.

The other team hoping for an upset after a great home match were Norwegian champions, Storhamar Hamar. But their journey to Skellefteå AIK in northern Sweden would ultimately end in defeat despite leading the game 2-1 with 28 minutes of the match played. It was former Montreal Canadiens', Bud Holloway who shone for the home side with 2 Goals and 1 Assists as the Swedes ran out 3-2 winners.

In the final match in Finland Kärpät Oulu knocked out the fourth Swiss team left in the competition, ZSC Zurich Lions. The home side left it to the third period with Czech youngster Radek Koblizek scoring twice with assists on both goals by Nicklas Lasu helping the Swede to second place in the Total Points competition.

So despite having 4 teams in the Round of 16, the Swiss are now left without a team in the competition. 3 Swedes, 2 Czech, 1 Finnish, 1 German and 1 Austrian team are left in the quarterfinals which will take place on 4/5 December with return matches on 10 December:

Munich - Malmö

Kärpät - Salzburg

Brno - Frölunda

Skellefteå - Pilsen

* quarterfinal matches subject to confirmation from the Champions Hockey League

On Tuesday the second leg in the first playoff phase, the Round of 16, will take place. Unlike the football there is no away goals rule, so it is just simply who scores the most goals over the two games.

Games where the first leg winner should take it

In three of the games one team scored significantly more than their opponent giving them the best opportunity of going through. Pilsen HC will play at home with a commanding 6-1 lead over Bolzano Foxes. If the Italians win it will be probably the greatest comeback of the CHLs history.

Tappara Tampere and SC Bern will need the home crowd with them and a great deal of luck be to beat their rivals, Kometa Brno and Malmö Redhawks who beat them 5-1 and 4-1 respectively in the first match.

So Czech teams Pilsen and Brno as well as Swedish Malmö will be favourites to go through.

Games that could go either way

However, in the other five games there were four ties. Only ZV Zug won against their opponents, Red Bull Munich, and that was a one goal game. That leaves all to play for in Tuesday's matches, below, with home team first:

Frölunda Indians (SWE)- Lugano

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)- Rouen

ZV Zug (SUI)- Red Bull Munich

Kärpät Oulu- Zurich Lions (SUI)

Skellefteå AIK (SWE)- Storhamar

I am going for the underlined teams to win, playing it safe with the Swedish and Swiss teams and with the possibility that there will be no Finnish teams in the quarterfinals. Rouen and Storhamar have the chance for the biggest upsets but will have there work cut out away from home against big name rivals.

We also might see several matches go over regulation with Sudden Death or Penalties as there must be a victor on Tuesday.

Top scorers

Naturally a number of the competition's top scorers will be in action, but some of them will play their last match in the CHL this season. HC Pilsen's David Stach still leads the Total Points competition with 11 (3G+8A).

But behind him are a whole raft of players with 10 points ready to take on the Czech international in the competition. That includes top goal scorer Nicklas Lasu (Kärpät), Lino Martschini (Zug), Patrick Thoresen (Storhamar), Nicolas Deschamps (Rouen), Mathias Olimb (pictured) and Joakim Lindström (Skellefteå), Ryan Lasch (Frölunda) and Jarkko Malinen (Tappara). Of course, these players will be looking for the team win, but be assured that they will also be putting the puck on net themselves hoping for rebounds, tips and goals off their own.

The international break gave us a chance to see the Four Nations Cup take place in Canada. This is an annual tournament between Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland in women’s hockey.

The strength of the Swedish league can be seen in that one of the winning American team plays here in Sweden, eight of the Finnish team that came third and 17 of Sweden’s own Damtrekronorna who finished without a win in the tournament.

Below we will take a longer look at the cross-pollination between North America and Sweden in today’s women’s hockey scene

The increase of North Americans in the SDHL

As little as four year's ago there were only 4 North Americans playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL), and only one of them played the entire season in Europe. This season there are 26, including players from both the Gold and Silver medal team from the 2018 Olympics. Unsurprisingly, the Canadians are who are in the majority with 20.

Many of these imports are high impact players and are leading the league in points. That includes nearly half of the top 15 Points scorers. Furthermore, two players who played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), Michela Cava (Toronto Furies) and Danielle Stone (Calgary Inferno), are also the top points scorers for their current clubs who are in first and second position in the SDHL at time of writing.

The dramatic impact of the NCAA

Stone is one of the few players in the SDHL who has come to Sweden having played in the Canadian college league, USports. Whereas the majority have come from the NCAA, the American college system. But this league is not just developing North American players. 15 of the top 25 Points scorers today in the SDHL are graduates from the States. That including a whole raft of nationalities including last year's top Goal scorer and Swiss Olympian, Lara Stalder (Minnesota-Duluth) and the best player on Total Points, Finnish Olympic bronze medalist, Michelle Karvinen (North Dakota). Even the current top scoring Swede and 2006 Olympic Silver medalist, Pernilla Winberg is a NCAA graduate.

Swedes in the top North American leagues

At the moment there are no Swedes in either Canada's USport college league or the CWHL. And only one person in the NWHL, Michelle Löwenhielm, starting her first season at Connecticut Whale after four years at Minnesota-Duluth. But it might also be worth keeping an eye on the six 19-21 years about to start the 2018/9 season in the NCAA. The most notable so far is Sara Hjälmarsson, the 20 year old who is set to play for Providence College having scored 3 points in six Olympic matches for Sweden in 2018.

The cross-Atlantic exchange of players is still at and early stage of development. But you can be sure as time goes on that the dream to be a women's hockey pro will lead to an increased cross-pollination of Nordic and North American players seeking their gold on the other side of The Pond.