Red Bull Salzburg’s Benjamin Nissner and Troy Bourke celebrate as the team advances to the Champions Hockey League playoff round thanks to a regulation-time tie in Fribourg.
photo: Gintare Karpaviciute / GEPA pictures
Three teams started the day vying for the spot but, with a shootout loss, Austrian champion Red Bull Salzburg got the one point it needed on the final day of the Champions Hockey League’s group stage to complete the field of teams that advance to the round of 16.
“I’m not sure a team’s ever been so satisfied with an overtime loss before,” Salzburg head coach Matt McIlvane smiled after the game.
With 15 places in the Champions Hockey League’s round of 16 already determined heading into Game Day 6, all eyes were on the two Group E games on Wednesday night.
The Norwegian champion Stavanger Oilers hosted Ilves Tampere from Finland starting at 18:30 CET, followed by Fribourg-Gotteron from Switzerland hosting Salzburg at 19:45. Fribourg had already sewn up top spot in the group with 12 points, followed by Salzburg with 7, Ilves with 6 and Stavanger with 5. The loser of the Stavanger-Ilves game would be eliminated immediately but the winner wasn’t guaranteed advancement, as Salzburg controlled its own destiny.
Stavanger and Ilves were tied 1-1 after one period and 2-2 after two, with Tommy Kristiansen scoring both Stavanger goals. Dan Kissel then scored the winning goal for Stavanger with 12:51 remaining in regulation time on a shot from deep in the corner that hit the arm of Ilves goaltender Marek Langhamer and went in on the short side. Fighting for their lives, the Ilves players threw everything they had in the dying minutes but Henrik Holm was brilliant in goal, stopping 35 of 37 Ilves shots in the game. A late empty-netter made it a 4-2 final.
“I’m not sure a team’s ever been so satisfied with an overtime loss before,” Salzburg head coach Matt McIlvane smiled after the game.
With 15 places in the Champions Hockey League’s round of 16 already determined heading into Game Day 6, all eyes were on the two Group E games on Wednesday night.
The Norwegian champion Stavanger Oilers hosted Ilves Tampere from Finland starting at 18:30 CET, followed by Fribourg-Gotteron from Switzerland hosting Salzburg at 19:45. Fribourg had already sewn up top spot in the group with 12 points, followed by Salzburg with 7, Ilves with 6 and Stavanger with 5. The loser of the Stavanger-Ilves game would be eliminated immediately but the winner wasn’t guaranteed advancement, as Salzburg controlled its own destiny.
Stavanger and Ilves were tied 1-1 after one period and 2-2 after two, with Tommy Kristiansen scoring both Stavanger goals. Dan Kissel then scored the winning goal for Stavanger with 12:51 remaining in regulation time on a shot from deep in the corner that hit the arm of Ilves goaltender Marek Langhamer and went in on the short side. Fighting for their lives, the Ilves players threw everything they had in the dying minutes but Henrik Holm was brilliant in goal, stopping 35 of 37 Ilves shots in the game. A late empty-netter made it a 4-2 final.
“We played well, I think,” said Stavanger head coach Todd Bjorkstrand. “Obviously, Ilves is a really good hockey team and we knew we needed to be physical, block shots and get goals at the right time. The guys played really hard.”
“We had a really good start to the game, but during the second period we had lots of problems,” said Ilves head coach Antti Pennanen. “In the end, a pretty good game but not enough.”
The loss eliminated Ilves, but the three points temporarily leap-frogged Stavanger into second place in the group with 8. But all Salzburg needed was a single point and that’s what the Austrian champion got.
Lucas Thaler gave Salzburg an early lead but two goals less than two minutes apart in the second period but Fribourg up 2-1 – that was the score when the game in Stavanger ended.
With 8:50 to play in regulation time, Peter Hochkofler banged home a loose puck in front to tie the score and that’s all Salzburg needed. When the third period ended, the spot was secure.
“We had a really good start to the game, but during the second period we had lots of problems,” said Ilves head coach Antti Pennanen. “In the end, a pretty good game but not enough.”
The loss eliminated Ilves, but the three points temporarily leap-frogged Stavanger into second place in the group with 8. But all Salzburg needed was a single point and that’s what the Austrian champion got.
Lucas Thaler gave Salzburg an early lead but two goals less than two minutes apart in the second period but Fribourg up 2-1 – that was the score when the game in Stavanger ended.
With 8:50 to play in regulation time, Peter Hochkofler banged home a loose puck in front to tie the score and that’s all Salzburg needed. When the third period ended, the spot was secure.
After a scoreless overtime, Sandro Schmidt scored in the sixth round of the shootout to get the win for Fribourg.
“The way that the game was, the way that our lineup looks, we had to rely on character and team play today,” said McIlvane. “I’m really proud of our leaders stepping in here, I’m really proud of our kids stepping in here and filling holes. It took a lot of character to be able to push that thing to overtime.”
While the top-two finishers from the other seven groups were already known, seeding was still to be determined in some of them. One of them was in Group F, where the Straubing Tigers secured top spot with a big 8-0 win over Villach SV combined with a surprising 4-3 loss for Swedish champion Farjestad Karlstad against IIHF Continental Cup champion Cracovia Krakow in Poland. It was the first ever win by a Polish team against a Swedish team in the CHL.
“It was our best game this season, we played very well tactically,” said proud Cracovia head coach Rudolf Rohacek. “We knew that we couldn’t open up the game too much, so we secured the neutral zone, took advantage of their mistakes and played very responsibly.”
Other teams that managed to secure top group seeds with wins on the last game day include Tappara Tampere in Group C, Rogle Angelholm in Group D, Mountfield Hradec Kralove in Group G and Skelleftea AIK in Group H.
In terms of individual performances, Frolunda Gothenburg winger Ryan Lasch finds himself in his familiar place at the top of the scoring list with 16 points in the group stage. The American has topped CHL scoring on three previous occasions, won the MVP twice and, with 125 points in 85 career games, is by far the competition’s all-time scoring leader. Second in points after this year’s group stage is EV Zug’s Brian O’Neill with 12 points and Eisbaren Berlin’s Zach Boychuk with 11. Boychuk, the former Carolina Hurricane, also led with eight goals but his team won’t advance.
Among goalies, the 35 save for Stavanger’s Holm gives the Norwegian a group-stage leading 189. Two goalies – Fribourg’s Connor Hughes and Tappara’s Christian Heljanko – recorded two shutouts each. Hughes and Heljanko also had the best goals-against averages and save percentages among goalies who played at least three games.
The 16 advancing teams that will take part in the playoff draw include:
Group winners: A. Lulea Hockey (SWE), B. EV Zug (SUI), C. Tappara Tampere (FIN), D. Rogle Angelholm (SWE), E. Fribourg-Gotteron (SUI), F. Straubing Tigers (GER), G. Mountfield Hradec Kralove (CZE), H. Skelleftea AIK (SWE).
Group runners-up: A. Jukurit Mikkeli (FIN), B. Grizzlys Wolfsburg (GER), C. Red Bull Munich (GER), D. ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI), E. Red Bull Salzburg (AUT), F. Farjestad Karlstad (SWE), G. Frolunda Gothenburg (SWE), H. HC Davos (SUI).
The playoff draw will take place on Thursday at 16:00 CET. The eight group winners will be drawn against the eight runners-up. A team can’t be drawn against a team from the same group, but can be drawn against a team from the same national league. The draw will result in a playoff bracket, so no further draw will be necessary.
“The way that the game was, the way that our lineup looks, we had to rely on character and team play today,” said McIlvane. “I’m really proud of our leaders stepping in here, I’m really proud of our kids stepping in here and filling holes. It took a lot of character to be able to push that thing to overtime.”
While the top-two finishers from the other seven groups were already known, seeding was still to be determined in some of them. One of them was in Group F, where the Straubing Tigers secured top spot with a big 8-0 win over Villach SV combined with a surprising 4-3 loss for Swedish champion Farjestad Karlstad against IIHF Continental Cup champion Cracovia Krakow in Poland. It was the first ever win by a Polish team against a Swedish team in the CHL.
“It was our best game this season, we played very well tactically,” said proud Cracovia head coach Rudolf Rohacek. “We knew that we couldn’t open up the game too much, so we secured the neutral zone, took advantage of their mistakes and played very responsibly.”
Other teams that managed to secure top group seeds with wins on the last game day include Tappara Tampere in Group C, Rogle Angelholm in Group D, Mountfield Hradec Kralove in Group G and Skelleftea AIK in Group H.
In terms of individual performances, Frolunda Gothenburg winger Ryan Lasch finds himself in his familiar place at the top of the scoring list with 16 points in the group stage. The American has topped CHL scoring on three previous occasions, won the MVP twice and, with 125 points in 85 career games, is by far the competition’s all-time scoring leader. Second in points after this year’s group stage is EV Zug’s Brian O’Neill with 12 points and Eisbaren Berlin’s Zach Boychuk with 11. Boychuk, the former Carolina Hurricane, also led with eight goals but his team won’t advance.
Among goalies, the 35 save for Stavanger’s Holm gives the Norwegian a group-stage leading 189. Two goalies – Fribourg’s Connor Hughes and Tappara’s Christian Heljanko – recorded two shutouts each. Hughes and Heljanko also had the best goals-against averages and save percentages among goalies who played at least three games.
The 16 advancing teams that will take part in the playoff draw include:
Group winners: A. Lulea Hockey (SWE), B. EV Zug (SUI), C. Tappara Tampere (FIN), D. Rogle Angelholm (SWE), E. Fribourg-Gotteron (SUI), F. Straubing Tigers (GER), G. Mountfield Hradec Kralove (CZE), H. Skelleftea AIK (SWE).
Group runners-up: A. Jukurit Mikkeli (FIN), B. Grizzlys Wolfsburg (GER), C. Red Bull Munich (GER), D. ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI), E. Red Bull Salzburg (AUT), F. Farjestad Karlstad (SWE), G. Frolunda Gothenburg (SWE), H. HC Davos (SUI).
The playoff draw will take place on Thursday at 16:00 CET. The eight group winners will be drawn against the eight runners-up. A team can’t be drawn against a team from the same group, but can be drawn against a team from the same national league. The draw will result in a playoff bracket, so no further draw will be necessary.
The round of 16 will be played in November, the quarter-finals in December, and the semi-finals in January, each in the form of two-game, home-and-away series with the winner on aggregate score advancing. The one-game final is scheduled for Saturday, 18 February 2023.
Visit www.championshockeyleague.com for more information on the league.
Visit www.championshockeyleague.com for more information on the league.