The second season of the Euro Hockey League – Europe’s elite club hockey tournament for men – begins this Friday in Amsterdam, but Scottish teams Azzurri Kelburne and Western Wildcats don’t see action until 31st October.

Twenty four of Europe’s finest teams will play in the first rounds, with twelve teams taking part in Round 1a this weekend at Amsterdam H&BC and the other twelve, including both Scottish teams, taking the pitch in round 1b at Lille in Northern France the following weekend.

The 2007/2008 event was won by UHC Hamburg (Uhlenhorster), who go in ranked, by country, as fourth this year.  Scotland’s Azzuri Kelburne and newcomers Western Wildcats aim to maintain Scotland’s current eighth place spot-a ranking that must be maintained to have two teams representing the country.

The first rounds of the Euro Hockey League are being televised by various stations, with many matches being aired live. A full broadcast schedule is available on the Euro Hockey League website. Matches will also be uploaded each evening, allowing site visitors to catch all of the day’s action on their computer screens.

Throughout each tournament day fans will be able to follow the action as it happens, with results, match reports, official match sheets, photos and news stories constantly being added throughout the duration of the event.