The fifth Champions Hockey League final will take place on 5 February 2019 in the Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden. It will see four times winners, Frölunda Indians with home ice advantage against the first ever German team to reach the finals, Red Bull Munich.

Frölunda are certainly the favourites, but Munich, who have several of Germany's Olympic Bronze medal team in their roster, will be ready to play underdog and provide a shock result.

Frölunda Indians

The talented Indians have several players who have first hand experience of being beaten by the Germans at the Pyeongchang Olympics. That includes their captain and Swede Joel Lundqvist, Norwegians Mats Rosseli Olsson and Mattias Nørstebø and Canadian defensemen, Chay Genoway. But that will probably only make them more determined to get revenge and beat Munich.

And with the attacking quality they have they have every reason to be confident.

Genoway is the competition's top scoring defenseman and American forward, Ryan Lasch is the competition's Top Scorer so the Swedish team are not short of talent in front of net.

At the back Frölunda are not lacking in skillful players either. They have, for example, assistant captain Jonathan Sigalet. The 32 year old Boston Bruins drafted Canadian marshals the defense and is usually paired with young protégé and the 20 year Detroit Red Wings drafted, Gustav Lindström who is thriving in his first season in the SHL.

Whilst Joel Lundqvist is the only Frölunda player to have played more than 60 matches in the NHL, the team has is drenched in quality. Only two of the defensemen on the roster have not been NHL drafted and seven of the forwards are drafted players so they can field high quality players on every shift. And that does not count for the young Samuel Fagemo, who will be drafted this summer.

But whilst they may not have NHL match experience, this team also knows how to win the CHL. Not just the managers, but a huge amount of the players have been part of the double win in 2015/6 and 2016/7. That includes four forwards from the first win and three backs and eight forwards from that second win who are still on the squad.

And let's not forget netminder, Jonas Gustafsson, who appeared in both winning finals and was drafted by Minnesota Wild in 2010 and has played two full seasons in the AHL.

Make no mistake this is a talented team, but they can be neutralized and they can be inconsistent - remember they only just squeezed their way past HC Lugano in the first knockout match.

But when they play their best, like against HC Pilsen, they are almost unbeatable. I have back them from the beginning and believe they have got what it takes to win this year's CHL.

Red Bull Munich

Whilst this is Munich's, and indeed Germany's, first appearance in the CHL final, this team is familiar with success and should not be underestimated.

They have won the DEL three years in a row and on their way to this final have beaten teams from Sweden, Switzerland and Austria away from home in the pressurized knockout phases.

The team has considerably more NHL and AHL experience than their Swedish rivals with nearly 5000 matches combined in the North American leagues. This comes mainly from two import players, 35 year old, Matt Stajan with over 1000 games in the NHL and 34 year old John Mitchell who also played c. 500 matches in the world's top league. Mitchell's experience shows as he leads the team in points in CHL and DEL in this season.

But whereas Mitchell has 12 assists in the CHL, it is another Canadian import, Trevor Parkes who has most goals for the Germans with nine. He has played c. 200 AHL games but the 27 year old has he much greater success in the DEL where he is now in his third season. All three are in their first year in Munich and will be wanting to cash in on this unique opportunity.

But this team is not all about import players. Red Bull is the home club of six of Germany's Olympic Bronze medal team. They are defensemen Yannic Seidenberg and Daryl Boyle alongside forwards Patrick Hager, Frank Mauer and Yasin Ehliz. However, most crucially of all, netminder, Danny aus den Birken. He was the Winter Games best keeper and has been the DEL's best keeper every year Munich has won the national championship. At 33 year's old aus den Birken will be looking to take this golden opportunity to seize the top prize in European hockey. He, and his teammates, are hoping to pull off the surprise of the competition and take the CHL trophy from under the Swede's noses on 4 February.

Expect the Germans to keep it tight hoping to frustrate Lasch and Co. and then pick off them off late on in the game, whilst the Swedes are likely to come out flying and try to crush Munich's spirit as soon as the first whistle blows.

Playoffs

The Playoffs will start on 13 February after the Six Nations Tournament in Russia. Each match will be a best of five series, with home advantage to the first team:

Luleå HF v AIK

MODO v Brynäs IF

Linköping HC v Djurgården IF

Leksand IF v HV71

Luleå remain favourites for their third title in four years.

Over the next few days we will have a look at each team’s regular season.

This weekend, the first in February, saw the final games played in this year's regular season in the SDHL.

The series champions- Luleå/ MSSK

For the fourth year in a row Luleå/ MSSK have won the title. Their Finnish international stars have dominated, Jenni Hiirikoski is the league's top scoring defender and finished second in Total Points whilst Michelle Karvinen came in fourth and Noora Tulus fifth.

But the team's Swedes also produced with Emma Nordin taking the top goalscorer with 31, at the same time coming in third in Total Points and Sara Grahn, the league's best netminder with a 93.19 SVS%.

In total they have won 31 out of 36 matches this season and the only teams to beat them were MODO Hockey, Linköping HC, HV71 and finally Leksand IF - the only only team to beat them twice.

However the challenge still remains to win the playoffs- something they have done two of the last three years.

Last night on home ice Luleå/ MSSK took the regulation season series for the fourth year in a row.

They beat second placed MODO Hockey 5-3 and even though two games remain to be played this weekend, last year’s champions cannot be caught by their rivals from the town of Örnsköldsvik.

However, the race for top points scorer is still on between Michela Cava of MODO and Jenni Hiirikoski of Luleå.

Cava took points in all three of her team’s goals last night (1G+2A), whilst Hiirikoski gained just two (1G+1A). That means the Canadian leads over the Finn by 61pts to 58pts.

Both teams have to face top opposition in the weekend in the shape of third placed Linköping Dam and fourth placed HV71. So points will not be easy to come and even a single assist might be the difference between first and second place.

Meanwhile in the top goal scoring competition, Luleå’s Emma Nordin scored in last night’s victory to take her to 29 goals - four more than Cava and Linköping’s Canadian import, Kennedy Marchment. Nordin, the league’s top scoring Swede in Total Points, has a good chance of winning this title and if she does will join Luleå keeper, Sara Grahn, who (barring an unlikely distaster) has won the top netminder’s competition.

With just three matches to go in the regular season of the SDHL, Luleå and MODO Hockey have had a perfect penultimate week taking a maximum of 9 points each. But it is still advantage Luleå who need just one point to secure the series for the fourth year in a row.

Both teams will meet third placed Linköping HC and fourth placed HV71 on home ice at the end of the week.

But before that on Wednesday 30 January MODO travel to Luleå in what could be the regular season decider. MODO won their last contest at the Coop Norrbotten Arena and both teams will not just be thinking of the regular season but the forthcoming playoffs, where the two could meet again in the final.

Apart from the series table there is also the matter of the top points scorer, where MODO’s Canadian forward, Michela Cava currently leads with 58 points with Luleå’s Finnish duo of Jenni Hiirikoski (56 pts) and Michelle Karvinen (55 pts) plus Swedish international, Emma Nordin (54 pts) hot on her heels. Literally every point will count, but Karvinen will probably not win the title again as she did in 2017/8. That because she received a four match suspension for Checking to the Head on Wednesday leaving her only available for the last match of the season.

Discipline maybe be one of Luleå’s weakness. Last week back Johanna Fällman scored the infamous Gordie Howe hattrick against Göteborg HC. This week, 27 year old forward Emma Nordin was not content with a goal and an assist and decided to equal her teammate’s feat.

So when Brynäs IF’s Wilma Carlsson pushed Ebba Berglund into the boards at 52:13, Nordin for no obvious reason chased down the 17 year old and pushed and punched her until the referees and teammates calmed her down. Carlsson got two x 2 PIMs for the Illegal Hit and Roughing and Nordin got 2 + 2 PIM for Fighting - plus a You Tube clip in her honour that you can see below.

Four minutes rest seem to both of them good and Nordin and Carlsson returned to the ice with less than four minutes left both of them found the net before the siren sounded for the end of the game which Luleå won 6-1 against a Brynäs who have had a dismal year, losing eight out of nine matches in 2019.

But Luleå look certain to clinch another series win. The question is will they go on through the playoffs and take the national championship for the third year out of four?

It has been a busy week at the business end of the 36 match season in the women’s hockey league (SDHL).

The top three: Luleå, MODO and Linköping

Third placed Linköping’s 0-1 lost at home to Leksand leaves them with a mathematical possibility of winning - but relies on the two teams above them to lose all their remaining matches - an impossible ask given the quality of SDHL.

Second placed MODO Hockey won all three of their games this week. They lie just two points behind the leaders and have four games left to play. As long as they win at least one more match than their rivals above them the title is theirs.

But it is definitely advantage- Luleå/ MSSK. They have a two game advantage and an enormous goal difference advantage over MODO. That despite winning two out three matches this weekend. The club need just 10 points by any means in the remaining six games to guarantee the Norrbotten club their fourth regulation season championship in a row.

Relegation

At the other end of the table both SDE and Gothenburg cannot escape the relegation playoff meaning we know who will be in the playoff.

Hanna Olsson, Djurgården IF

One person however who will not be playing in the SDHL playoff is 19 year old Swedish international, Hanna Olsson. Her and club, Djurgården IF has terminated their contract early and one if the sub-clauses in the the young talent cannot play in the SDHL for the rest of the season.

The Total Points competition

Luleå’s 14-0 victory over bottom placed Gothenburg on Friday caused a stir on and off the ice. Firstly it caused the club’s top line of Karvinen, Hiirikoski and Nordin to all climb up significantly in Total Points to second, third and fourth respectively above Linköping’s Kennedy Marchment in fifth. MODO’s Michela Cava now only leads the competition by one point and risks losing the competition where she had held top spot for the last few months.

Gordie Howe hattrick

The match also saw an extremely rare event in women’s hockey - a Gordie Howe hattrick performance by Luleå’s tough back, Johanna Fällman.

As you can see in the video, Luleå’s top scorer, #33 Michelle Karvinen is knocked to the ground in front of goal and makes her way back to blue line where she receives the puck. Gothenburg captain, #20 Anna Borgfeldt, then hip checks Karvinen but falls down in the process whilst Karvinen remains on the puck. Fällman takes exception to the legal hit and comes over and cross checks Borgfeldt into the ground. The referee is all ready on hand and moves Fällman away but Borgfeldt gets up absolutely livid and comes around the referee and starts laying into Fällman. Then three or four players on each team pile in and the linesman’s come in o calm things down. Even Karvinen appears to throw a punch at Borgfeldt but Fällman and Borgfeldt receive 5 plus game which still had two minutes to play by that point.

Tuesday night in the Czech Republic and Wednesday night in Austria saw the second and final legs of the Champions Hockey League semi finals decide who will be meeting in the final on 5 February.

Frölunda Indians (SWE) v HC Pilsen (CZE)

Frölunda Indians travelled HC Pilsen with a 6-3 lead from the first game. Both clubs knew that the home team would need to get ahead early and grind out the four, or more, goals needed for victory. But Frölunda were not in the mood for favours, or making a game of it.

The competition's top scorer, Ryan Lasch (in photo) crushed any thoughts of a home ice victory after just 3:12 with a beautiful individual effort. Faking the shot he drew Pilsen keeper Dominik Frodl out of position only to go anti-clockwise round the goal and place the puck in the net with a textbook wrap-around number (see video).

Frölunda stifled the talented Pilsen attackers so by the time Denis Kindl scored their first goal at 50:42 the match and, indeed the whole tie, was way out of sight for the Czech team. The Swedes won 3-1 on the night and 9-4 on aggregate to make it to their fourth final in five years. On this performance, few would be against the Trophy going to the Swedish club in less than a month.

Red Bull Munich (GER) v Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

In the other match Red Bull Munich travelled the short distance across the border to face Red Bull Salzburg after a goalkeeper's game in Germany which ended 0-0 last week.

Home ice advantage seemed to make the difference for the Austrians as 25 year old Alexander Rauchenwald sent the puck past Germany's Olympic keeper, aus den Birken after 13:26.

But just like the national team had done in the Olympics, the Geman team hit back with double strike scoring twice in three minutes to go into the first period break up 2-1. And it was naturally one of Munich's Olympic stars who lead the way, as Bronze medalist Yannic Seidenberg got an assist on the first goal before the 35 year old defenseman found the net himself.

The visitors continued to pile on the pressure forcing 35 saves from Salzburg's Minnesota Wild drafted Steve Michalek by the time the final whistle went. Any chance of a late recovery by the home team was quashed with 10:01 to go as yet two more of Munich's German Olympians got on the scoreboard with Yasin Ehliz getting the primary assist on Patrick Hager's 3-1 goal.

That was enough to send a German team to the final for the first time in Champions Hockey League history. They will go to Gothenburg as underdogs when they face the two times champions on 5 February. But make no mistake, this Red Bull Munich team will be brimming with self confidence and, who knows, maybe pull off a historic victory.

Frölunda Indians (SWE) v HC Pilsen (CZE)

Gothenburg Frölunda Indians travel to face HC Pilsen tonight knowing they are on the brink of a fourth final appearance in five years. The Czech team need to win by four clear goals to qualify after losing the first leg 3-6 in Sweden last week.

They need to see top players like Milan Gulas and former KHL star, Jan Kovar as well as former Detroit Red Wings defenseman, Jakub Kindl play to the very best of their ability and hope that Ryan Lasch, Joel Lundqvist and company are having a bad day at the office. But whilst Pilsen have not lost at home in the CHL this season, Frölunda have only lost by more than four goals once this season in the SHL.

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Red Bull Munich (GER)

After a 0-0 result in Munich last week, the Battle of Red Bull must be decided in Salzburg on Wednesday. Last week we heard the pipe work cling more than the siren ring, so this could be a one goal game where Sudden Death, or even penalties, will decide which of these two German speaking neighbours will be the first to represent their country in the CHL final.

Salzburg’s go-to man in front of net is Canadian John Hughes, with over 600 goals in c. 500 appearance in the EBEL. But they also have former Portland Pirates (AHL) playmaker, Ryan Duncan who has a track record of coming good in playoff scenarios.

Munich have the advantage of six German Olympic bronze medalists in the team - a squad that beat Switzerland, Sweden, Canada and nearly OA Russia in one goal games. So, netminder Danny aus den Birken, defensemen Yannic Seidenberg, Daryl Boyle and forwards Patrick Hager, Frank Mauer and Yasin Ehliz will be the key to an away ice victory for the Germans in what could prove to be one of the best matches of the tournament.

Lara Stalder

The 24 year old Swiss Olympian, Uni. of Minnesota-Duluth graduate and only European to be drafted in the NWHL has been confirmed as out for the rest of the season to have an operation on her shoulder. It has now been revealed that she has had this problem since the summer but, despite rehabilitation, she only managed to play 17 games this season, where she has amassed an incredible 38 points. But in the second period of her comeback match for Linköping HC on 5 January she was forced to stop after a battle close to the boards. It has not been decided if she will have the operation in Sweden or Switzerland.

Denise Altmann

A ray of light for Linköping HC is that Stalder’s replacement has been 31 year old Austrian, Denise Altmann. She retired at the end of last season after being the league’s outstanding scorer leading the in Total Points, Goals and Assists by over 200 points. Altmann took up the post as Linköping’s forwards’ trainer for players such as Stalder, but the Swiss star’s injury has meant a return to the ice for arguably the great player in the SDHL’s 11 year history.

Brooke Boqvist

Eliteprospects has reported that MODO Hockey’s Canadian import, Brooke Boqvist is out indefinitely due to concussion. How it came about is unclear but the 22 year old Providence College graduate has not played since 24 November where she scored the team’s only goal in a 2-1 Overtime defeat to Djurgården IF.

Marion Allemoz

Good news for MODO Hockey, in a season where several of their star import players have been injured, was the return at the New Year of Marion Allemoz. After nearly two months out the French national captain and former Montreal Canadiennes forward was back in the all red MODO jersey. She answered for one assist in the team’s 3-2 victory over Djurgården IF.

Lore Baudrit

Injuries at MODO, however, may have introduced a new talent to the SDHL in the shape of 6’2" (190cm) tall French national forward, Lore Baudrit. After playing for the University of Montreal she played last season for the CWHL outfit, the Montreal Canadiennes. But like Allemoz, she decided on a move to Sweden this year playing for first division IF Björklöven where she has outclassed the opposition leading Total Points with 37 in just 12 games. Now on loan to MODO she has gained 7 points in 4 games, statistics that surely mean a permanent move to the SDHL is imminent for the 27 year old.

Caroline Markström

In an interview with Hockeysverige St Cloud State graduate, Markström revealed that she had suffered her first ever concussion during the third match of the season on 21 September. Not realizing what had happened, or the seriousness she played the following two days but since then has been unable to play at all. Nearly four months she still does not know when she will return. The 24 year old defenseman was in her second season at Brynäs IF after graduating in 2016/7 from the NCAA and had played for Sweden at the 2015/6 World Championship.

Last night saw the first round in both the semifinals of this year’s Champions Hockey League.

Frölunda Indians hosted Milan Gulas’ current team, the Czech Republic’s HC Pilsen. It was the former Färjestad BK forward’s second visit to Sweden in the tournament after his side knocked out Skellefteå AIK in the quarterfinals.

In the other match it was the Red Bull Battle as Munich hosted Salzburg to see whether it would be Germany or Austria into the final for the first time.

In a rough-tough match, both teams managed to hit the post, but ultimately it was a keeper’s game with a tied result of 0-0.

You can bet German Olympic Silver medalist and Munich netminder, Danny aus den Birken was pleased with that as was his Salzburg counterpart, the American Minnesota Wild drafted Steve Michalek.

But it was not a dull encounter by any means. It is worth watching the video to see how many genuine chances there were as well as Salzburg defenseman, Dominique Heinrich‘s incredible goal line stop. The Austrian international and former Örebro HK back is on course for one of his highest scoring seasons, but with Michalek beaten he prevented a certain goal.

It sets up a winner-takes-all match in Salzburg next Tuesday.

The match in Gothenburg by contrast, saw nine goals as the best two teams left in the competition went head to head. The Czech visitors showed why they were the only team to be unbeaten in the competition before the game, with great attacking play.

But whilst never seeming to dominate, Frölunda were the team that found the net most. In just 3:19 minutes in the second period they scored three goals and ruthlessly put to the sword the visitors’ chance of an away victory. That despite three goals from Pilsen’s American defenseman, Conor Allen who has played for New York Rangers.

The final score was 6-3 with both Rhett Rakhshani, pictured, (2G+1A) and Ryan Lasch (1G+2A) scoring 3 points each on the night. Lasch stretches his lead in to top scorer’s competition in the CHL and played despite being doubtful due to a serious knee injury. It all goes to show that Frölunda desperately want a third title, and only an outstanding performance from Pilsen at home next week can stop the Swedes getting to the final.