Men's Ice Hockey IIHF European Champions Hockey League 2021 - 2022

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Knockout Stage, Semifinals

 

Pairings

1st Leg, Tuesday & Wednesday 4 & 5.01.2022

2nd Leg, Tuesday & Wednesday 11 & 12.01.2022

 

Red Bull Munich (GER) - Tappara Tampere (FIN)

Rögle Ängelholm (SWE) - Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE)

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Knockout Stage, Semifinals

 

1st Leg

Tuesday 04.01.2022 - Schedule*

 

19:00 Rögle Ängelholm (SWE) - Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE)

20:30 Red Bull Munich (GER) - Tappara Tampere (FIN) Game cancelled (Covid protocol)

 

*All times CET

 

Watch live

 

Check here for details of live TV broadcasts:

https://www.championshockeyleague.com/en/fans/where-to-watch
 

All games are also live on the CHL website for free, subject to geo-blocking restrictions in certain countries due to TV rights.

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MATCHUP PREVIEW: FRÖLUNDA AND RÖGLE BATTLE TO REPRESENT SWEDEN IN THE FINAL

 

With only four teams left in this year’s Champions Hockey League, one of the two Semi-Finals matchups features and all Swedish affair, but the two teams have very different histories in the competition as Rögle Ängelholm take on Frölunda Gothenburg.

 

For Frölunda, they begin the penultimate round of their title defence on the road.

 

It’s a side that knows how to win and will be looking towards their fifth CHL title if they can make it to the Final.

 

Standing in their way is a team that hasn’t been this far in the competition before, because until this year, they hadn’t been in the competition at all.

 

Rögle are the last of this year’s debutants left in the CHL, and they’ll be hoping to keep their debut season alive for at least one round longer, but it’ll be a tough test going against the four-time CHL Champions.

 

For Rögle, they’ve had great success at both ends of the ice.

With 36 goals as a team, spread fairly evenly around the line-up, with their top goal scorer Adam Tambellini with five of those goals.

They’ve also had a lot of success in net, with the duo of Calle Clang and Christoffer Rifalk putting in some great performances to keep goals against to 21.

The debutants have had some great individual performances as well, Lucas Ekeståhl Jonsson has elevated himself into the MVP discussion with a 12-point season, including 10 assists, the most by a defenceman.

 

For Frölunda, well not much has changed since they last one the title, even if that was two-years ago now.

They still have their veterans performing at high levels, with the CHLs top scorer of all-time Ryan Lasch once again turning in performance after performance with a league-leading 13 assists and leading with 16-points.

Joel Lundqvist is also up to his usual best with a six-point season.

They have the edge in terms of total goals, with 43 on the season, seven coming from Patrik Carlsson and six from Elmer Söderblom, and in net it’s been mostly Matthew Tomkins they’ve called on, with the Canadian goalie featuring in seven games in his CHL debut season so far, and the tandem of Tomkins and Niklas Rubin has kept the goals against to 21, like their Semi-Finals opponents.

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MATCHUP PREVIEW: MUNICH, TAPPARA LOOKING FOR OFFENSIVE OUTBURST

 

Down to just four teams, the stage is set for the Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals as Finnish side Tappara Tampere line up against German side Red Bull Munich.

 

After shutting out the Rouen Dragons in their Return Game of the Quarter-Finals, Tappara are set to enter their first Semi-Finals matchup in their seven-season CHL tenure.

 

Munich, having outlasted Lukko Rauma in an OT victory, will be making their second appearance in the Semi-Finals since 2018/19.

 

Both clubs are CHL veterans, each having at least five campaigns to their names, but not once have they faced off against each other in the pan-European competition.

 

Consequently, Tappara and Munich will need to figure each other out on the fly.

 

When it comes to the style of hockey, however, both clubs are on a level playing field, having suited up against representatives from each country already this year.

 

Munich are coming off a tough home matchup against Lukko, but have seen much of their success at home, compiling a 4-1 record.

 

Their 36 Goals For rank third in the CHL while the Finns sit in second with 38.

 

When it comes to special teams, the Germans sport one of the best penalty killing units operating at 89.47%.

 

On the other side of the puck, the Finns, who rank third overall in All-Time Games Won in the CHL, have had their fare share of wins on the road where they have a 3-1-1 record.

 

With both clubs boasting a potent offence and a solid defence, the deciding factor heading into this matchup will be finding ways to keep the puck out of their own nets.

 

Munich are ranked fifth with 3.6 goals per game while Tappara sit third with 3.8.

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COVID-19 PROTOCOL ANNOUNCEMENT:

RED BULL MUNICH – TAPPARA TAMPERE CANCELLED

 

The Semi-Finals First Game matchup between Red Bull Munich and Tappara Tampere, scheduled for Tuesday evening, has been cancelled as the German authorities have put the entire Munich team into quarantine as a precautionary measure after a positive Covid-19 test of at least one team member was confirmed as a case of the Omicron variant.

 

According to the CHL’s Covid-19 Protocol, the CHL’s Covid-19 committee will consult and decide on the consequences and inform of the resolution in due course.

 

 

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Knockout Stage, Semifinals

 

1st Leg

Tuesday 04.01.2022 - Results

 

19:00 Rögle Ängelholm (SWE) - Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 5-3

20:30 Red Bull Munich (GER) - Tappara Tampere (FIN) Game cancelled (Covid protocol)

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Knockout Stage, Semifinals

 

1st Leg, Match Highlights

 

Rögle Ängelholm (SWE) - Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE)

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Knockout Stage, Semifinals

 

2nd Leg

Tuesday 11.01.2022 - Schedule*

 

18:00 Tappara Tampere (FIN) - Red Bull Munich (GER) Game Cancelled because of Covid Protocol

19:00 Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) - Rögle Ängelholm (SWE)

 

*All times CET

 

Watch live

 

Check here for details of live TV broadcasts:

https://www.championshockeyleague.com/en/fans/where-to-watch
 

All games are also live on the CHL website for free, subject to geo-blocking restrictions in certain countries due to TV rights.

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COVID-19 PROTOCOL ANNOUNCEMENT:

TAPPARA TAMPERE – RED BULL MUNICH CANCELLED

 

Despite a governmental announcement on Friday in Germany regarding the quarantine rules in the country the quarantine for the Red Bull Munich team remains currently unchanged.

 

Therefore, the CHL Semi-Finals Return Game between Tappara Tampere and Red Bull Munich, scheduled for next Tuesday evening in Tampere (FIN), must be cancelled.

 

The German authorities put the entire Munich team into quarantine on Tuesday this week as a precautionary measure after positive Covid-19 tests of a number of team members were confirmed as cases of the Omicron variant.

 

For this reason, the Semi-Finals First Game between the two teams was already cancelled earlier this week.

 

The CHL is currently looking into all possible options on how to proceed further.

 

According to the CHL’s Covid-19 Protocol, the CHL’s Covid-19 committee will take the final decision on the consequences and inform of the resolution in due course.

 

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Match Preview

 

TRIP TO THE FINALS ON THE LINE AS RÖGLE VISIT FRÖLUNDA

 

Rögle Ängelholm enter Tuesday’s Return Game with a tao-goal aggregate advantage and a chance to book their ticket to the Finals.

 

That road, however, won’t be easy as defending Champions Frölunda Gothenburg will have the home crowd on their side for this rematch at Frölundaborgs Isstadion.

 

In the First Game, Frölunda broke the ice when Johan Sundström netted his fourth of the campaign late in the opening stanza.

 

Looking to capitalise on that momentum, Frölunda were firing on all cylinders early in the second, but it would be Rögle who found the net next when Ted Brithén secured the equaliser.

 

The newcomers would add three more to take a 4-1 lead in the third, but Frölunda found their stride and scored two in quick succession.

 

In what would be a nail-biting few minutes of hockey, Rögle were able to hold off their opponents’ late surge and claim victory.

 

Now, both clubs know what’s at stake and what must be done as the battle for Sweden continues.

 

For Frölunda, it’s all about keeping their composure and taking it one shift at a time.

 

Their heavy-hitters will be expected to step it up and their tenth-ranked penalty kill (83.87%) will need to be at its best against the premier powerplay (42.50%) in the CHL.

 

The team from Gothenburg have experience on their side along with the fans and should look to use both to keep their hopes of a fifth Finals appearance alive.

 

Despite their win, Rögle have a bit of an uphill battle if they hope to continue on.

 

With the second most goals for at 41, their ability to score is not the question – what matters is their ability to defend.

 

With a respectable 2.36 goals against, Rögle have managed to keep the puck out of their own net and will need to maintain a stingy defence against a hungry team in Frölunda.

 

Fortunately for the team in green and white, the road has been where they’ve done some of their best work, only losing one decision in five away games.