Bremerhaven vs Ajoie

Ajoie entered the fixture on the back of a convincing 5-1 win over French side Dragons de Rouen on 17 August, while Bremerhaven were looking to bounce back from a 4-2 defeat to Lausanne HC on 18 August — a game in which they led 1-0 before conceding four.

The match, streamed live on MustangTV, saw both sides use extended pre-season rosters as they fine-tune systems ahead of their respective league campaigns. Exact period-by-period goal times and scorers were not officially published at the time of writing, but the 3-2 scoreline reflects a tightly-contested affair typical of pre-season meetings between Swiss National League and German DEL opposition.

With the score level at some stage in the second half of the game, Ajoie's ability to find a decisive third goal proved the difference. Pre-season friendlies at this stage of August often hinge on special teams and roster depth, and Ajoie's consistency across their four lines — demonstrated also in their 5-1 demolition of Rouen two days earlier — appeared to edge the contest in their favour.

Specific individual statistics for this friendly were not published, but Ajoie's attack carried momentum from their Rouen victory where Daniel Carr and Deniss Smirnovs each scored their first goals for the club, as reported by HC Ajoie's official channels.

For Bremerhaven, the top line led by captain Christian Wejse — who scored against Lausanne — and defenceman Phillip Bruggisser (also on the scoresheet against Lausanne) provided the attacking threat that kept the German side competitive throughout.

The Coupe des Bains is designed as a fitness and systems-building tournament for all participating sides, meaning rotations are heavy and tactical experimentation takes priority over results. Ajoie's back-to-back wins (5-1 vs Rouen, 3-2 vs Bremerhaven) suggest their pre-season sharpness is ahead of schedule. Bremerhaven, meanwhile, will be satisfied with a competitive showing after a 4-2 loss to Lausanne two days earlier, but a 0-2 start to pre-season gives head coach Alexander Sulzer areas to address before DEL action begins.

Ajoie continue their Coupe des Bains campaign with two wins from two, building confidence ahead of the National League season. Their next pre-season fixture is away to Genève-Servette on 27 August. Bremerhaven sit at 0-2 in pre-season but face another stiff test on Friday 21 August when they take on Swiss champions Fribourg-Gottéron at Guin.

A close-fought pre-season friendly that told both coaches more about their squads than the scoreline suggests. Ajoie's early rhythm is notable; Bremerhaven have work to do but the DEL side showed enough to suggest results will come as fitness builds.