The semi-finals are now starting to take shape in many of Europe's top leagues, while France is down to just the final two. In Great Britain, the league was won with two points separating first and third, and the Champions Hockey League will visit Scotland for the first time!
by Luke Fisher
Austria
With the Vienna Capitals overcoming a 2–0 series deficit and eliminating Szekesfehervar in six games, and Black Wings Linz beating out last season's champions HC Bolzano in a deciding seventh game, Sunday night saw the start of the EBEL semi-finals. Red Bull Salzburg made light work of KAC Klagenfurt with a 5–2 win on home ice. The other game needed a Brian Lebler goal at 69:30 to take a 3–2 win for Linz over Vienna. All four of these teams will contest next year's Champions Hockey League.
Czech Republic
We're almost ready to go with the semi-finals of the Czech Extraliga, except for one series that will be decided in game seven. Sparta Prague came through 4–0 against Mountfield Hradec Kralove, while Ocelari Trinec and HC Litvinov had 4–1 series wins over BK Mlada Boleslav and HC Pardubice, respectively. The one remaining tie sees Kometa Brno and PSG Zlin locked in at three wins each. Zlin faced elimination in game six, but came back with a thumping 5–0 home-ice win to set up the decider in Brno tonight.
Denmark
The semi-final stage in the Danish Ligaen currently sees Blue Fox Herning 2–1 down Esbjerg Energy, after the latter scored 35 seconds into overtime in Herning to take the series lead. In the other match-up, SonderjyskE Vojens are currently 3–0 up on the Frederikshavn White Hawks, and could book their place in the final by Tuesday night.
Finland
After last week's drama for IFK Helsinki just to reach the playoffs, this past week saw the Liiga quarter-finals begin. Top seeds Karpat Oulu won their playoff opener at home to SaiPa Lappeenranta, but then went down 5–3 away from home to have the series level at one each – those two teams met in this past season's CHL quarter-finals. All of the other series have seen the higher ranked team take a lead, though; with Tappara Tampere up 2–0 on HIFK, Lukko Rauma leading KalPa Kupio by two, and a double set of wins for JYP Jyvaskyla putting them in a commanding position over the Espoo Blues. However, as we've seen elsewhere in Europe, 2–0 is far from a safe series lead.
France
Gap are through to the Ligue Magnus finals, with a pretty straightforward series win over Dijon. Credit must go to their opponents though, who reached the semi-finals having been ranked 11th in the league overall. In the other semi, Angers and Epinal needed a deciding game seven to find a winner, with Epinal – the eighth seeds – coming through 4–1 to win the series 4–3. The finals start on Tuesday.
Germany
A huge shock in Germany, where regular-season runners up Red Bull Munich crashed out of the playoffs at the first hurdle, losing four straight games to Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg. A 4–3 overtime win for Adler Mannheim in game five was enough to see them through 4–1 over the Nuremburg Ice Tigers, while the two remaining quarter-finals are locked in at three each. Game sevens on Tuesday night will decide the winners of ERC Ingolstadt vs. Iserlohn Roosters and the Hamburg Freezers vs. Dusseldorf EG, after the latter in both ties won on home ice to avoid elimination.
Great Britain
Congratulations to the Sheffield Steelers, who won this season's Elite League and therefore claim a CHL place. Due to the league in the UK being traditionally more important than winning the playoffs, the runners up – the Braehead Clan – will also join them in the Champions League next season. It's a big story for the Clan, who only brought professional hockey to Glasgow five years ago, and will now host CHL hockey in Scotland for the first time. The Cardiff Devils narrowly missed out on taking the CHL to Wales by one point, and on winning the league by two. The playoffs see Sheffield facing the Fife, Braehead vs. Hull, Nottingham vs. Coventry, and Cardiff vs. Belfast. The four winners will advance to the annual 'Playoff Finals Weekend', held in Nottingham.
Norway
The Stavanger Oilers have yet to lose a game in the Norwegian Ligaen playoffs, now leading Valerenga Oslo 2–0 in the semi-finals in a meeting of this year's two Norwegian CHL sides. In the other series, the Storhamar Dragons are up by the same score on Sparta Sarpsborg, and so the final series match-up could be set before Friday.
Slovakia
The Extraliga semi-finals are already looking good for Kosice, who raced into a 3–0 lead against Poprad, only for the latter to win 6–2 on home ice to get themselves on the board. Kosice can book their finals spot tomorrow night, however. The other match-up sees Nitra 2–1 up on Banska Bystrica with game four taking place Monday night. If Kosice and Nitra meet in the final, Nitra will book the second Slovakian CHL spot.
Sweden
Despite making the post-season through the 'Play-in' round, Brynas Gavle's season is now over after a 4–0 series thumping by Skelleftea AIK, making the regular-season winners the first team to book their place in the semis. The Frolunda–Lulea tie is going to a game seven to decide who gets through there, with Frolunda erasing a 1–3 deficit with two straight overtime wins and now bringing the series back home for a chance to win on Tuesday night. Elsewhere both the Vaxjo Lakers and Linkoping HC lead Orebro and HV71 by three games to two, and could book their semi-final places with just one more win.
Switzerland
An overtime home loss now sees ZSC Lions Zurich trail Geneve-Servette 2–1 in the series of their NLA playoff semi-final, and mean the Lions have now lost two straight games against their French-speaking opponents. The other semi-final match-up sees HC Davos in a commanding 3–0 lead over SC Bern, and could all be over by Tuesday night if Davos can get the job done on home ice.