BRAEHEAD CLAN had little doubt about the severity of the challenge facing them in their Champions Hockey League debut against Vaxjo Lakers.

But after seeing the Swedish champions and European top seeds record a stunning 10-2 victory over them on Thursday, Clan head coach Ryan Finnerty admits he was blown away by his team’s opposition.

It was a tough baptism for the Glasgow club as they dipped their toe in European waters for the first time. That was accentuated by the fact they were 5-1 down after the first period.

Still, they rallied and put up a valiant fight against a Lakers side that would surely hold no fears if they ever came up against an NHL team.

Finnerty was realistic about his team’s chance of beating the Swedes on the night given the gulf in class, and his lofty opinion of their hosts only heightened further after the match.

He said: “Vaxjo are certainly one of the best teams I’ve ever seen. They controlled the majority of the play and showed why they are the champions of Sweden.

“You have to give them credit for the way they pounced on anything going. They created a lot of confusion and they deserve all the praise they get.

“It was pretty tough certainly, but we’ve got to find a way to take some positives from this one.

“In saying that, I thought we had decent spells, but we didn’t make plays when we had the puck and we broke down in defence.

“We wanted to keep that scoreline down and certainly didn’t want to ship ten goals, but it is what it is and we move on to get better.”

The European adventure doesn’t stop in Sweden for Braehead who will play Ingolstadt of Germany tonight in their second game in the CHL before hosting both sides the following two weekends.

Still a class act, the outfit from just outside Munich will give Clan a better opportunity to play their own game, and it’s one Finnerty is looking forward to.

“For us, it’s a good learning experience and we have to pull plus points from this. It’s too easy to be negative,” he said.

“It was a long night behind the bench for me, but when we got our foot and started playing, we did compete with them.

“But you make one mistake, they control the puck and skate so well and you find yourself chasing them down the ice.

“One thing we can learn from them is where the puck is going to be rather than waiting for it and our anticipation let us down.”