Ice Hockey 2016 - 2017 Discussion Thread

[hckošice 14,899]

MEN'S EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE

2016/17

 

 

 

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Frolunda still European kings

Lasu Swedish hero when Frolunda beat Sparta in OT

Champion of the champions: the Frolunda Gothenburg players celebrate with the trophy after defending their CHL title.

 

Frolunda Gothenburg took their second consecutive CHL title, this time on home ice, when Nicklas Lasu scored the golden goal 1:27 into the overtime in the final game against Sparta Prague.

“It’s a tough tournament to win, so we’re very happy for the win. They took over in the third so we were lucky getting to overtime. It was good for us to get the intermission,” said team captain Joel Lundqvist, CHL MVP, who also finished second in the CHL scoring race, tied in points with teammate Casey Wellman.

“I’m very proud of being the MVP but it doesn’t even come close to the team winning the title,” he added.

“This is awesome, the tournament is so fun to play. I’m proud of the guys. It’s cool to win the scoring title, but the win is awesome,” Wellman said.

The Champions Hockey League got the final it deserved. Not that the previous finals would have been disappointing, far from it, but maybe the fact that this year’s edition featured a Swedish and a Czech team, instead of it being an all-Swedish final or a Finnish-Swedish affair, pushed both teams more.

The 3-on-3 overtime capped a fast-paced and thrilling final, in which Sparta started strong, and finished strong, with Frolunda controlling the game the rest of the way.

For Lundqvist and Co, it was the first time they got to play in the final, and win it, on their home ice.

“It’s a relief and huge joy at the same time. It was a great game, as a final should be. Also, both teams’ fans created a fantastic atmosphere, this was hockey at its best,” the Frolunda captain said, referring to a few hundred Sparta fans who had made the trek to Gothenburg.

Nothing beats the sweet taste of victory, added Frolunda’s Finnish winger Sean Bergenheim.

“Winning is always great, and a player doesn’t get opportunities like this that often. We knew they’re a big, strong and skilled team, and they played well tonight. But we’re a strong team, too,” he said.

“As a player, it’s a great feeling to be able to say that we’re the best team in Europe and I hope the fans find the Champions Hockey League interesting too. The fans were awesome tonight, but we’ve played some games in front of fewer spectators than this,” he added.

The Frolundaborg arena, while not as big as Gothenburg’s main arena, the Scandinavium, provided a great setting for a great game. Hundreds of Sparta fans dressed in white made sure even the matchup in the stands stayed even throughout the game.

Martin Hostak, an analyst for Czech TV, does know Swedish hockey, thanks to his nine seasons in the SHL. He called Frolunda the favourite to win, but added that “Sparta has a chance if they survive the opening minutes.”

The pace of the game was furious from the get-go, as the players went back and forth at breakneck speed. Sparta more than survived the opening minutes as they peppered Johan Gustafsson with shots and after a long possession in the Frolunda zone, Lukas Cingel gave Sparta the lead in the game when it was just two-and-a-half minutes old. Gustafsson made three quick saves, but couldn’t stop the fourth one.

With the teams not knowing each other’s tendencies very well, it’s easy to fall back on stereotypes. Frolunda captain told IIHF.com before the game that he expected Sparta to play typical Czech hockey, with a lot of skill and a quick transition game. On the other hand, if there’s one virtue the Swedes are famous for, it’s patience. And it showed today, too.

About eight minutes into the period, Frolunda got a power-play opportunity. The Swedes had a top-ten power-play success rate in this season’s CHL, 25.45 percent, and once again, they were effective. The cycled the puck in the Sparta zone, got it to Henrik Tommenes on the point and Casey Wellman took care of the rebound, tying the game.

Moments later, Frolunda got on the power play again when Miroslav Forman got a five-minute slashing penalty after Patrik Carlsson was injured after he was hit in the throat.

Lundqvist’s fears of the quick Czech transition game were proven right when Jaroslav Hlinka and Petr Vrana got on a two-on-one after a Frolunda turnover on the offensive blueline. Hlinka, 40, showed that he can still more than keep up with the kids as he carried the puck into the zone and flipped a pass to Vrana, who gave Sparta a 2-1 lead.

Patiently, Frolunda continued their power play. With 7:54 remaining in the period, Lundqvist deflected a shot from the point, and tied the game. It was his league-leading 14th point in this season’s Champions Hockey League.

The second period was just as fast-paced, but Frolunda took a hold of the game and grabbed the lead for the first time before the period was halfway through when Wellman scored his second after Lundqvist had started the attack during a delayed penalty.

“I saw that they were a little tired, they had been in their zone a while. Victor (Ollofsen) made a really good play to me, and I saw I had a step on their defenceman so I just went to the net,” Wellman said.

It was also the Frolunda captain who gave Sparta an opening early in the third period with his offensive-zone slashing minor. Frolunda killed the penalty, but in the shift that followed, Sparta continued their pressure and their leading scorer Lukas Pech found Lukas Klimek in front of the net and is one-timer found its way to the back of the net, tying the game, and setting the table for a fairy-tale finish.

Unfortunately for the Czechs, the hosts got the prize.

“We have a few days off, so we’re going to celebrate this,” Wellman said.

 

 

Results Thread

 

[hckošice 14,899]

Brief recap of todays international results,

 

The Euro Hockey tour continue this weekend with the Sweden Hockey Games. The round-robin tournament started with first 2 matches Russia defeated Finland 2-1 and Sweden the Czech Republic  5-2.

 

Sweden and Russia leading the tournament with 3 points, Finland and Czech Republic follows with 0 points,

 

In the cumulative standing. Russia increase their lead now with 18 points, Czech republic and Sweden are with 9 points and Finland with 6 points.

 

the tournament will continue Saturday with matches Finland vs Czech Republic and Sweden vs Russia.

 

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Challengers,

 

Today started also the 3 challenger tournaments of this international break,

 

In Goyang, South Korea, Hungary won against Japan 2-1 and South Korea defeated Denmark  4-2.

 

South Korea and Hungary leading the standing with 3 points, followed by Japan and Denmark with 0 points,

 

Tomorrows schedule Japan vs Denmark and South Korea vs Hungary

 

 

 

In Graz, Austria, France lost to Norway 1-4 and Austria won against Slovakia "B" 2-1 after overtime.

 

Norway top the standing with 3 points, Austria second with 2 points, the Under 23 team of Slovakia is third with 1 point and France 4th pointless.

 

Tomorrow Slovakia "B" face France and Austria will meet Norway.

 

 

 

In Katowice, Poland, Ukraine won against Italy 4-3 after overtime and Slovenia against Poland  4-1.

 

Slovenia leading the tournament with 3 points, Ukraine just behind with 2 points, Italy 3rd with 1 point and Poland 4th at 0 points.

 

Tomorrow Poland vs Ukraine and Slovenia vs Italy.

 

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Friendly Matches,

9th February 2017

 

Mens

Czech Republic U16 - Sweden U16  4-2

Germany U18 - Switzerland U18  4-5

Czech Republic U19 - Germany U19  4-2

Russia U17 - USA U17  3-4

Finland U18 - Czech Republic U18  3-2

Russia U16 - Finland U16  1-3

Slovakia U17 - Denmark U17  1-3

Slovakia U18 - Belarus U18  5-0

Slovakia - Russia "B"  1-3

Czech Republic U17 - Sweden U17  3-4 after GWS

Finland U19 - Sweden U19  4-0

Germany U17 - Switzerland U17  2-3

Sweden U18 - Russia U18  3-1

 

Womens

Finland - Sweden  3-2 after OT

 

 

 

 

[Finnator123 292]

That EHT match was Liiga vs KHL . It showed that Finland's top league is so much behind KHL

 

But in the overall performance of that Team Finland, i'm proud. It was almost all Liiga team and they almost managed to beat Russia

[Finnator123 292]

9th February was very Finntastic day

[hckošice 14,899]

Yesterdays recap,

 

Finally started the Slovakia cup in Nitra,

 

The tournament is played in a simple knockout round, semifinals, placement matches, yesterday we had both semifinals, Switzerland won against Belarus  4-2 and Slovakia defeated Russia "B"  6-2.

 

Today are scheduled the placement games, Belarus and Russia "B" will met each other in the bronze medal game and Switzerland will face the host country Slovakia in the final tonight.

 

here the highlights of the Slovakia - Russia "B"  6-2 match

 

 

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Challengers,

 

Yesterday continued also all 3 this breaks challengers,

 

In Goyang, South Korea, Japan lost to Denmark easily 1-6  and South Korea to Hungary  2-5.

 

Hungary leading the standing with 6 points, South Korea and Denmark both following with 3 points, Japan 4th without points,

Today the last day: Hungary play Denmark and in the asian derby South Korea play Japan

 

 

 

In Graz, Austria, France defeated Slovakia "B"  3-1 and Austria won against Norway  2-1 after GWS:

 

The standing: Austria and Norway both with 4 points, France 3rd with 3 points and Slovakia "B" 4th with 1 single point,

Todays last day schedule, Norway vs Slovakia "B" and Austria vs France.

 

 

 

In Katowice, Poland, The host team Poland won against Ukraine 3-2 after GWS and Slovenia defeated Italy 6-2.

 

Slovenia leading the tournament with 6 points followed by Ukraine with 3 points, Poland with 2 points and Italy with 1 point.

Today Slovenia will play Ukraine and Poland vs Italy to end the tournament.

 

 

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Friendly Matches:

10th February 2017,

 

Mens

Sweden U16 - Finland U16  1-5

Belarus U18 -  Germany U18  0-4

Denmark U17 - Switzerland U17  1-3

Germany U19 - Finland U19  2-5

Sweden U17 - Russia U17  0-6

Russia U16 - Czech Republic U16  5-1

Slovakia U18 - Switzerland U18  2-1

Czech Rpublic U18 - USA U18  1-3

Finland U18 - Russia U18  1-6

Germany U17 - Slovakia U17  3-6

Switzerland U19 - Czech Republic U19  0-3

USA U17 - Finland U17  3-2 after GWS

 

Womens

Finland - Russia  7-2

Poland - Netherlands  4-2

 

[hckošice 14,899]

Finland - Czech Republic  1-7

[hckošice 14,899]

okay baby, it´s hockey time let win this tournament for 3rd time in a row

[hckošice 14,899]

this is so frustrating outshooting them but can not score a single one and Switzerland shoots 3 times and lead 3-0....sometimes hockey isn´t fair at all

[hckošice 14,899]

and suddenly it work ...2 goals in 1 minute 2-3 after 2 frames..C´mon boys ! Keep this trophy here

[hckošice 14,899]

and we lost what a unlucky game this was..but well, what can we do, after 2 triumphs last 2 years this time it´s only second place. congrats Switzerland