Ice Hockey 2018 - 2019 Discussion Thread

[phelps 7,706]

KHL Conference Finals

 

Western Conference: looking at the final score, it could seem a lot closer than it actually was...

game #7 of the Western Conference Finals started as expected, with both teams feeling the big pressure that only such kind of events have...

not much happened in the first period, but at the beginning of the second stint, CSKA took control of the operations and quickly scored twice, thanks to Linden Vey and Anton Slepyshev...

and even if SKA shortened the distance before the end of the central period, it was always CSKA to keep control of the puck and avoiding any further risk...

the third period was only a long wait until the CSKA's triumph, with SKA unable to put Sorokin under real threat...

an empty netter by Mikhail Grigorenko with 2 seconds left on the clock definitively sealed the deal for the guys from the Russian Capital...

CSKA won the game by a score of 3-1 and the whole series 4-3, but the overall impression is that they were never in danger of losing it all and that right now they are a way better team than SKA...

 

game #7 highlights

 

So, now we know the names of the Gagarin Cup finalists: it's gonna be a great match up between CSKA Moscow and Avangard Omsk...

Game #1 of the Gagarin Cup Finals (best-of-7 series, of course) is scheduled for next Saturday, April 13th in Moscow (5 p.m. local time, 4 p.m. CET)...

p.s. at the moment, odds are heavily in favor of CSKA (1.75 their win in game #1 vs 4.15 for Avangard and 4.00 for the game to go to the OT)...

[phelps 7,706]

Swiss NLA

 

game #1 of the final series of the Swiss NLA was played yesterday night...

the hosts from SC Bern had a good start, pushed also by the amazing 16,557 shouting fans of the PostFinance Arena (formerly known as the "Allmend Halle"), but after Jan Mursak's opening goal of the night, which gave the home crown the illusion of a triumphant night, EV Zug began playing their hockey and slowly but steadily turned momentum and score around...

from the start of the second period on, it looked like there was only one team on the ice (and it was not the home team) and when Garrett Roe scored the 3-1 goal at the beginning of the 3rd stint, it was all over...

the final 15 minutes were just cosmetic...it was only a chance for EV Zug to widen the margin of their victory...the final score of the game says: SC Bern, 1 vs EV Zug, 4...

therefore EV Zug now lead the series 1-0 and have stolen the home ice advantage...

Game #2 is scheduled for Tomorrow, Saturday April 13th in Zug (8 p.m. CET)...

 

game #1 scoresheet and highlights, here:

https://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20191105000373

[phelps 7,706]

KHL, Gagarin Cup Finals

 

there was much hype before game #1 of the Gagarin Cup finals...

but a very strong start by CSKA Moscow shut down early any chance to watch a close and interesting game...Andrei Svetlakov and Alexei Marchenko scored 2 goals in the first 8 minutes of the game and basically it was already all over...

there was also a shy attempt to try and come back by Avangard, but it was really too little...and when Mikhail Grigorenko scored the 2nd of his daily 3 goals at the beginning of the 3rd period, also the men from Siberia raised the white flag...

the remainder of the game was just a boring appendix, useful just to Grigorenko to complete his personal hat trick...

CSKA finally won game #1 by a score of 5-2 and therefore they also lead the series 1-0...

game #2 is scheduled for Tomorrow, Monday April 15th once again in Moscow (7.30 p.m. local time, 6.30 p.m. CET)...

 

game #1 full stats

https://en.khl.ru/game/674/81665/protocol/

 

game #1 highlights

[phelps 7,706]

Swiss NLA

 

game #2 of the final series of the Swiss NLA started in a very sleepy way...nothing happened in the first period...

but in the second stint, things got a lot more interesting...SC Bern, after losing the series opener at home, had to try and get back in route and therefore start putting EC Zug under some pressure, which led the team from the Swiss Capital to earn the lead early in the period...but EC Zug didn't panic and soon tied the game...

SC Bern then put in place another offensive storm and scored their second goal...

the 3rd period was only about EV Zug charging, looking for another game-tying goal, which came at about half the final stint...

then things got quiet once again, with both teams more afraid of givin'up scoring chances to the opponent rather then building some by themselves...

the logical consequence was that the game went to OT, where SC Bern started fast and furious and quickly scored a goal, which was then denied after the video replay...

but the Bears didn't lose their composure and it didn't took long for them to score once again...and this time it was a good goal, the game winning goal (scored by Gregory Sciaroni in the 65th minute)...

so, the final score was EV Zug, 2 vs SC Bern, 3 (OT)...and the series is now tied 1-1...

Game #3 is scheduled for Tuesday, Saturday April 16th in Bern (8 p.m. CET)...

 

game #2 scoresheet and highlights, here:

https://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20191105000374

[phelps 7,706]

Austrian EBEL

 

the semifinals are over...and the Final Series is going to be played by Vienna Capitals and KAC Klagenfurt...

 

Klagenfurt confirmed themselves on fire in this playoff run so far and after eliminating the defending champions HC Bolzano/Bozen Foxies in the quarterfinals by a score of 4-1 in the series, they did even better in the semifinals, where they didn't left anything to their rivals, the Moser Medicals Graz 99ers, who were swept 4-0 in the series...

 

on the other side, if Klagenfurt didn't make their series interesting at all for neutral fans, the match up between Vienna Capitals and Red Bull Salzburg was really tight and exciting, with the men from the Austrian Capitals winning only after a tough battle that lasted until the 7th and decisive match, when in the 3rd period, down 1-0, they came back from hell and finally won the game by a score of 3-1 and the series 4-3...

 

Semifinals Recap

 

KAC Klagenfurt b. Graz 99ers  4-0 (1-0OT2; 3-2OT; 3-0; 4-2)

Vienna Capitals b. Red Bull Salzburg  4-3 (4-2; 2-1OT2; 3-4OT; 3-5; 2-1OT; 2-3OT; 3-1)

 

the Finals (best-of-7 series) is scheduled to start later Today, Sunday April 14th, in Wien (game #1 puck drop @ 2 p.m. CET)...

[hckošice 14,899]

Also Poland has it´s champion.

 

GKS Tychy won the finals series 4-2 over Comarch Krakow.

 

and the celebrations could started in Tychy

 

 

 

 

[phelps 7,706]

Ligue Magnus

 

Les Bruleurs De Loups Grenoble are the French Champions for the 2018/2019 season...

they finished the regular season in second place behind Les Dragons Rouen, but in the final series of the playoffs they turned the seeding around and won the tough 7-game battle against their arch-rivals...

 

Ligue Magnus, Playoffs Recap

 

Quarterfinals (series results)

 

Rouen b. Chamonix 4-0

Grenoble b. Nice 4-0

Amiens b. Bordeaux 4-3

Gap b. Angers 4-1

 

Semifinals (series results)

 

Rouen b. Gap 4-1

Grenoble b. Amiens 4-0

 

Finals

 

Grenoble b. Rouen  4-3 (3-2; 3-2; 1-2; 0-1; 3-4OT2; 4-1; 2-1)

Edited April 15, 2019 by phelps

[phelps 7,706]

KHL, Gagarin Cup Finals

 

not much to say about game #3, which definitely it wasn't one of the most exciting of the KHL playoffs so far...

it was a very tight match from beginning to the end, with Avangard really focused on not givin'up any scoring chance to the charging home team and trying once every while to build something by themselves, but without being a real threat for Sorokin's net...

therefore it was all down to an episode, which happened late in the game, with only less than 7 minutes still on the clock...

at that time, there was a scrum in front of Avangard's net and Konstantin Okulov was able to find a hole and take a shot on goal...and here comes the help of the Gods of Hockey, as the puck hits the crossbar and then has an unlucky rebound on Bobkov's leg before ending up into the cage...

the game was basically over in that exact moment...then Avangard tried a desperate move, playing without their goalie but that only led CSKA to score 2 more goals...

CSKA finally won game #2 by a score of 3-0 and therefore they also lead the series 2-0...

game #3 is scheduled for Tomorrow, Wednesday April 17th in Balashikha, the temporary home for Avangard (7.30 p.m. local time, 6.30 p.m. CET)...

 

game #2 full stats

https://en.khl.ru/game/674/81668/protocol/

 

game #2 highlights

[phelps 7,706]

Czech Extraliga

 

also in the Czech republic the season's end is approaching and now we're finally down to the final act, the Championship series...

at the end of the RS we had Bìlì Tygřy Liberec on top of the standings, followed by Ocelàři Třinec...and now those 2 teams are also ready to fight for the title in the playoffs Finals...

but their run to the last act of the season wasn't so easy, as in the semis it took 6 games to Liberec and 7 games to Třinec to reach that stage...

 

Semifinals Recap

 

Bìlì Tygřy Liberec b. HC Kometa Brno  4-2 (4-3OT; 2-3OT; 2-1; 2-3OT; 5-2; 3-1)

HC Ocelàři Třinec b. HC Škoda Plzeň  4-3 (1-4; 2-3; 3-2; 4-3; 3-2; 1-3; 5-1)

 

the Finals (best-of-7 series) are scheduled to start next Thursday, April 18th on Liberec's home ice (first puck drop always at 5 p.m. CET)...

[phelps 7,706]

Finnish Liiga

 

there's always not much time to rest in the Liiga...they really have a packed schedule in their playoffs...

and thanks to this, despite starting last, they are already arrived to the playoffs Finals...

and finally, here we have a league where the regular season's 1-2 won't be repeated in the final act...

in fact, if Kärpät Oulu (RS winners) matched all the expectations and made it through to the Finals, Tappara Tampere (2nd in the RS) were upset in the semifinals by HPK Hämeenlinna in 6 games...

 

Semifinals Recap

 

Kärpät Oulu b. HIFK Helsinki  4-2 (3-2OT; 2-3; 3-0; 0-2; 2-1OT; 3-0)

HPK Hämeenlinna b. Tappara tampere  4-2 (0-1; 4-1; 2-3OT; 2-1OT; 3-2; 4-3)

 

the Finals (best-of-7 series) are scheduled to start next Saturday, April 20th in Oulu (game #1 puck drop @ 5 p.m. local time, 4 p.m. CET)