The Champions Hockey League has announced its 2024-25 schedule. The regular season will begin on September 5 and conclude on October 16. Each team will play twice between September 5 and 8, twice more between September 12 and 15, and once each on October 8 or 9 and October 15 or 16.
Switzerland’s Genève-Servette will begin defense of its European club title on September 6 on the road against the Fischtown Pinguins in Bremerhaven, Germany.
This will be 10th CHL season since its relaunch in 2014-15 and the second season using a new “groupless” format, similar to the one to be used in the UEFA Champions League of soccer starting this season. As a result, all 24 teams will play against six different opponents – three at home and three on the road. The records of all teams are pooled together and the top 16 finishers advance to the playoffs.
The regular-season draw was held on May 24 in Prague on the day off between the group stage and the playoffs of the IIHF World Championship.
The playoff field will be reduced from 16 teams down to two via three rounds of two-game, home-and-away series with the winners determined by aggregate score. The round of 16 will be played in November, the quarterfinals in December and the semifinals in January. The one-game final will be played on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.