The start of April generally means the final stages of the domestic hockey season, and so the drama keeps coming. We are on the verge of crowning the French champions, several leagues are just a matter of games away from their finals, and in the UK the semis and final will all take place over next weekend!
by Luke Fisher
Austria
Red Bull Salzburg confirmed their place in the EBEL finals with a four-game series sweep over KAC Klagenfurt. Salzburg have looked very strong all season long, and it is no surprise to followers of the league that they have made the finals with such ease. Who they'll play in that final series is still to be decided; however, the Vienna Capitals now have an unlikely two 'match points' against Black Wings Linz, leading the series 3–1. Few would have thought the Capitals would get this far after a disastrous 'Pick Round' campaign, but they are now just one win away from the final round.
Czech Republic
Having knocked out defending champions PSG Zlin in the quarter-finals, Kometa Brno now find themselves staring elimination in the face at home to Litvinov Tuesday night, 3–0 down in the series. In the other series, Ocelari Trinec won both of their home games to go 2–0 up on Sparta Prague, with games in the Czech capital must-win for the hosts or else they could be knocked out.
Denmark
A six-game series win over Blue Fox Herning puts Ejsberg Energy into the Danish Ligaen finals, with a 10–4 thumping in the last game of the series. There they'll meet SonderjyskE Vojens, who came through in five games against the Frederikshavn White Hawks with an 8–2 win in the final game. The two losing teams begin their smaller series for the 'bronze medal' on Tuesday, while the winners will contest for the championship starting on Friday.
France
Having stunned the Angers Ducs in the semi-final stage, the Epinal Dauphins – who came eighth in the regular season – have now raced into a 3–1 series lead over Rapaces de Gap and could win the Coupe de Magnus on Tuesday night. It's been an amazing run for Epinal, who were 3–1 down in their semi-final and facing an almost impossible situation.
Finland
Karpat Oulu beat their CHL quarter-final opponents SaiPa Lappeenranta again in the Liiga “elite eight” stage 4–1 to set up their semi-final meeting with JYP Jyvaskyla, who came through against the Espoo Blues in four straight games. The other semi-final sees Tappara Tampere, who needed six games to see off IFK Helsinki, meet Lukko Rauma, who also came through 4–2 against KalPa Kuopio. With the win, Lukko re-qualify for the CHL and the Blues make it for the first time, despite the loss. The semis start in Finland on Friday.
Germany
Having eliminated Red Bull Munich, Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg's "reward" was to face top-seeded Adler Mannheim in the quarter-finals. They currently trail by two games in the series, but the games have been tight so far. Elsewhere, ERC Ingolstadt and Dusseldorf EC eliminated the Iserlohn Roosters and Hamburg Freezers in seven games, respectively, to meet at the semi-final stage. Their series is currently level at one each. Game three in both series takes place Tuesday night.
Great Britain
The Elite League is all set for the annual 'Play-off Finals Weekend', which takes place as the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. Traditionally in the UK, the playoff quarter-final matches are played over two legs with aggregate scoring (as in the CHL), and then the semi-finals and final take place on the same weekend at one venue – which has been Nottingham for many years. There were shocks in the quarter-finals, though, firstly with the Nottingham Panthers crashing out to the Coventry Blaze. The first game ended in a 3-all tie; however, the Blaze scored two early goals in Nottingham to win the return leg 2–1 and the series 5–4 on aggregate – a result which also capped a disappointing season for the Panthers. Elsewhere, the Hull Stingrays knocked out CHL qualifiers Braehead Clan in another big shock, made more impressive by Hull going to Scotland already trailing 3–2. A goal just under four minutes into overtime gave the Stingrays a memorable 3–1 win in Glasgow to take the series 5–4. Belfast overcame Cardiff 8–3 over two legs, whilst Sheffield knocked out Fife 6–5. The semis see Hull face Sheffield, and Coventry vs. Belfast.
Norway
Regular readers of this series will know that for many months now, we have been reporting on the sheer dominance of the Stavanger Oilers in Norway. Well, now only the Storhamar Dragons stand in their way of a clean sweep of domestic titles this year in the Norwegian Ligaen playoff finals. The series will start on Monday of next week. However, congratulations are already in order to Storhamar who, by finishing second in the regular season and reaching the finals, have qualified for next season's CHL!
Slovakia
While the internet continues to speculate on which league Slovakia's most famous hockey club, Slovan Bratislava, will compete in next season, the Extraliga is now all set up for its final series. Kosice came through against Poprad in five games, while Banska Bystrica needed a 2–1 overtime win in Nitra in game seven to make the finals. The series starts Wednesday night, with Kosice holding home-ice advantage. .
Sweden
Having been knocked out by Lulea Hockey in the CHL, Frolunda Gothenburg must have feared the worst when they went 3–1 down in the SHL quarter-final against the same opposition. However, a remarkable turnaround saw the Gothenburg side win twice in overtime and then win a nail-biter on home ice to win the series in seven. Frolunda now meet the Vaxjo Lakers in the semis, who themselves got their place in the semis in six games against HK Orebro – and the Gothenburg side currently lead the series one game to zero. The other semi-final sees Skelleftea AIK currently two games up on Linkoping HC.
Switzerland
Finally to the NLA playoffs, with have been nothing short of dramatic. HC Davos' 4–0 series sweep of SC Bern in one semi-final was a walk in the park compared to the six games ZSC Lions Zurich and Geneve-Servette battled out, with the Lions coming through 3–1 in game six to go through to the finals. The Zurich–Davos final series gets under way on Thursday, and it's Zurich that will have home-ice advantage.