Read below for information about the eighth-final series between SaiPa Lappeenranta and Genève-Servette. SaiPa won 5–4 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals.

Game 2

With the teams tied at four goals each after 130 minutes of sudden-death overtime, including 10 minutes of sudden-death overtime, the quarter-finalist from this series was decided in a shootoot. There Jesse Mankinen and David McIntyre scored, while Jussi Markkanen stopped all four shots. Johan Larsson had a huge game for SaiPa, assisting on all four of his team's goals, while McIntyre also chipped in with two assists. Noah Rod's goal with just 56 seconds left in regulation time forced the series to overtime. 

"The game was tough for us, but we kept playing our offence and it paid off in the end," said Larsson, whose offence played a big part of the victory. On his accomplishment he said, "I think I had a four-point night a few years back with HPK Hämeenlinna. I think I scored two goals and had two assists that night."

READ the live blog here | WATCH the highlights here

SaiPa's 4-point man Larsson: "We showed we can be one of the top 8 teams in Europe"

Game 1

In a defensive battle, Geneve got two goals from Kevin Romy six minutes apart in the second period, and those were the only two goals of the game. Otherwise, Jussi Markkanen (25 saves) and Robert Mayer (20 saves for the shutout) were perfect. The two-goal victory means that SaiPa needs to win by two goals next week at home to force overtime, while a win by three goals or more would see them through to the quarter-finals.

"For us, it was important to win tonight," said Romy. "I'm happy with my two goals, but most important for me is that these goals are important for the whole team. Tonight we had the advantage of playing a home game. We had to dictate the game. The Finnish players are very well organized and we knew we would not have a lot of space to play. But we stuck to our system."

"It was a close game," said SaiPa coach Pekka Tirkkonen. "We stuck to our game plan, but lost patience in the second period, which gave Geneve the chances to score goals. For me, we created enough scoring chances, but we should have scored at least once. It was a two-goal difference tonight. We still have a chance to win this series."

READ the live blog here | WATCH the highlights here

Genève-Servette players say: "We are a Cup team"

"Genève style of play something we're not used to" says SaiPa coach Tirkkonen

Preview

It's Liiga against NLA in this match-up, although SaiPa will take heart from having already beaten NLA side EV Zug, home and away, already in the CHL. Interestingly, Genève actually scored more points in the group stage than SaiPa but it wasn’t enough to win their group, which is why they were not seeded higher in this tie.

Closer look: SaiPa Lappeenranta

(4-1-0-1, 14 points, 18:11, 1st in Group H)

SaiPa comfortably won Group H with a four-point cushion over EV Zug from Switzerland, although they surprisingly lost in Ingolstadt 4–1 in the group stage and needed a shootout to overcome Vítkovice Ostrava. Domestically, they are one of the teams battling in the middle of the pack. So far this season SaiPa have been a little unpredictable – the ability to be brilliant, but with the odd surprising loss, which is something their opponents will look to benefit from.

Dave

Spina

4+3, +1

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Dave Spina leads SaiPa in the CHL with seven points. Spina started the Liiga season on fire with 15 points in his first 10 games, and is still scoring at better than a point per game. It remains to be seen if Spina, along with David McIntyre and Tommi Jokinen, can lift SaiPa to the "elite eight" in Europe.

 

Brian

Salcido

1+2, +1

 

Top Defenceman: On a club with a lot of import players, Brian Salcido has paced the defencemen in both Liiga and CHL play. The American rearguard is a veteran of European hockey and the Finnish league in particular, and is a cornerstone of Saipa's defensive lines.

 

Jussi

Markkanen

91.20 %

 

Top Goaltender: SaiPa’s starting goalie Jussi Markkanen came through the CHL group stage with a save percentage of 91.20% as he played all six games. He's also played a majority of the minutes in Finland, so they'll hope the veteran netminder who formerly played in the Swiss league is up to the task.

 

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: Genève-Servette

(5-0-0-1, 15 points, 28:15, 2nd in Group C)

Genève-Servette came through as one of the best runners up, although in reality they finished tied for first in Group C with Frölunda Gothenburg. Their only loss of the group stage was a 7–3 defeat to Frölunda, as the Swiss club beat Villach and Briançon with relative ease. Considering a lot of the high-priced talent they've acquired, including the recent return of Matthew Lombardi, their start to the NLA season hasn't been so impressive.

Matt

D'Agostini

4+8, +7

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: 27-year-old forward Matt D’Agostini signed a one-year contract with Genève-Servette for this season. He was the team's key player in the Champions Hockey League opening round, scoring 12 points.

Romain

Loeffel

1+2, even

 

Top Defenceman: Slick, playmaking Romain Loeffel has three points in the CHL so far, and leads all club defencemen in NLA scoring despite only one goal. Genève will continue to rely on him moving the puck up to their skilled forwards.

 

Christophe

Bays

89.29 %

 

Top Goaltender: Netminder Christophe Bays is putting up mediocre numbers in the NLA so far, and 89.29% in the group stage of the CHL. If Genève are to go any further, he’ll need to be pushing over 90.

 

Click here for team statistics.

Related Links

05.10.2014 – Interview: "1 point?" asks SaiPa's McIntyre, "We want to get all 3"

09.09.2014 – Interview: When Spina & SaiPa on their game "we're really hard to beat"

10.08.2014 – Interview: CHL "will tell us where SaiPa stands in Europe" says Markkanen

25.08.2014 – Interview: New season, new adjustments for Geneve-Servette

18.07.2014 – Club news: Geneve-Servette signs NHL veterans Ranger & D'Agostini