Read below for information on the Champions Hockey League Final between Karpat Oulu and Frolunda Gothenburg. Frolunda won the one-off title game by a score of 2–1 to become European Champions!
Post-game
Videos - 10.02.2016 CHL Centre Ice: "The Final"
Interviews - 10.02.2016 The thrill of victory! Frolunda players speak following CHL title
Interviews - 10.02.2016 The agony of defeat: Karpat players explain what went wrong
Game day recap - 10.02.2016 Commentator's Blog, Part 4: still Oulu (lessons learned)
Interviews - 09.02.2016 Winning the CHL "a great feeling to win with these guys" says MVP Lasch
GAME STORY | LIVE BLOG & STATS | HIGHLIGHTS
Pre-game
Preview - 09.02.2016 Champions of Europe set to be crowned
Preview - 09.02.2016 Commentator's Blog, Part 3: Oulu (pre-game prep)
Preview - 09.02.2016 Karpat vs Frolunda: Crunching the Final numbers
Preview - 08.02.2016 Game On! Pre-game press conference
Interviews - 07.02.2016 Frolunda's Lasch: "We're a faster team"
Interviews - 05.02.2016 Karpat players see Frolunda as "a good challenge for us"
Club news - 05.02.2016 Pitkanen returns! Eligible to play for Karpat in CHL Final
Press releases - 05.02.2016 2nd CHL Final to be seen in 40 countries and territories
Preview
This Champions Hockey League Final between Karpat Oulu and Frolunda Gothenburg pits two of Europe's best club teams against each other – two teams currently involved in neck-and-neck races for first place in continental Europe's top two national leagues. The game pits two teams that have been to the title game and come very close to winning Europe's club hockey championship before, but never been the last team standing in the end. It's also a re-match of last year's CHL Semi-Final, which Frolunda won in overtime after the teams were tied on aggregate following two full hockey games.
After winning back-to-back Finnish titles and getting to the CHL Semi-Finals last year, expectations were high for Karpat this season and they breezed through their first six CHL contests, surrendering only a single goal along the way. First it was a perfect showing in Group J, overpowering the Vienna Capitals and Krefeld Pinguine by a total score of 12–1. Next it was 2 more shutouts for goaltender Sami Aittokallio against Dusseldorfer EG in the Round of 32, making it 5 in 6 games. Then they hit a bit of a bump in the road against Sparta Prague – losing 4–2 in the Czech capital before rallying to win the aggregate score on home ice, thanks to a magnificent last-minute goal from Mika Pyorala. They didn't have Pyorala in their lineup for the Quarter-Finals against the Espoo Blues, but they still managed to overcome a 2-goal deficit following the opening leg and won on home ice, thanks to a 5-point performance from Julius Junttila. In the Semi-Finals they surrendered two early goals in to Lukko in Rauma, but rallied with 3 straight goals to win the away half of the series, then earned a tie on home ice to ensure their spot in the Final.
Domestically, Karpat started out slowly but then turned it on, and now find themselves in familiar territory at the top of the standings, battling for first place with IFK Helsinki.
Frolunda were also first in their group, finishing with a perfect 12 points in Group N, although after opening with a 9–1 win over the Sheffield Steelers, the remaining three group games against the Steelers and JYP Jyvaskyla were close. In the early knockout stages, the Indians made a habit of digging themselves a hole in the first leg and then climbing their way out in the second. First they fell 4–2 in Ingolstadt in the Round of 32 before rallying a week later on home ice to tie the aggregate score in the dying seconds courtesy defenceman Lukas Bengtsson. Then in overtime, Ryan Lasch scored a highlight-reel goal to win it. In the next round Frolunda lost 2–1 in Litvinov, then rebounded with a big 6–0 win on home ice. In the Quarter-Finals, they lost the opener in Lulea 3–2 before winning 5–4 on home ice in the return leg to tie the aggregate score, then won the series in a shootout. In the Semi-Finals they again started on the road, but this time gave themselves a comfortable cushion with a 5–0 win in Davos. The 1–1 tie back home the following week was easily enough to bring them back to the Final.
After a blazing start to their Swedish Hockey League season, Skelleftea AIK have rallied to catch them, and the two clubs are in nearly a dead heat for top spot in the standings.
As mentioned, both of these games have been in European club title games before, but neither has managed to take that one last step. On 9 February in Oulu, either hometown Karpat or visiting Frolunda will finally do that and lift the European Trophy.
Closer look: Karpat Oulu
(9-0-1-2, 28 points, 33:13)
As the only Liiga team in the northern half of Finland, Karpat have perhaps the largest fanbase in Europe in terms of geographical area. In the 21st century, those fans have had a lot to cheer about. Of the club's seven Finnish titles, six have been won since the 2003–04 season, when they won their first of four in five years. This Finnish dynasty was led by goalies goalies Niklas Backstom and Pekka Rinne, defencemen Ilkka Mikkola and Mikko Lehtonen, and forward Petr Tenkrat. In that time, they twice advanced to the final of the European Champions Cup, losing in overtime to Avangard Omsk in 2005 and in a shootout to Dynamo Moscow in 2006. In recent years, they have strung together two more back-to-back Finnish titles and now they're looking for a third. They're also looking for more success on the European stage, and had their appetites whetted last year when they got to the Semi-Finals, where they lost a thrilling two-game set to Frolunda in overtime. This year they're in the Final, where they have a chance to get revenge on the Swedish club that knocked them out last year.
With their combination of stingy defence and dangerous offence and depth at every position, they have had the look of champions throughout the competiton. They've shown the ability to overcome adversity in the last three stages, both in terms of deficit and injuries. Now they have one last obstacle to overcome.
Julius
Junttila
4+6, +8
Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: With Pyorala out of the lineup in the Quarter-Finals, Junttila recorded 5 points in the second leg to take over the club CHL scoring lead with 10 points. He also has one of the best plus-minuses in the CHL at +8. At 24 years of age, Junttila is already a veteran on this Karpat team, now in his fifth season on the A-team with two national titles under his belt. Now Pyorala is back, making for a devastating combination on the top line. But a team with the scoring depth of Karpat won't expect Junttila and Pyorala to shoulder the offensive load. They have three lines that can score,including Mika Niemi – the team's top domestic scorer with 32 points in 42 games – Miro Aaltonen, Ivan Huml and a couple of youngsters who just recently led Finland to the IIHF World Junior Championship on home ice: 19-year-old Sebastian Aho and 17-year-old tournament MVP and leading scorer Jesse Puljujarvi.
Lasse
Kukkonen
1+4, +4
Top Defenceman: Karpat captain Lasse Kukkonen is a warrior who leads by example. The Oulu-born Kukkonen is the embodiment of the northern work ethic and winning mentality. Usually logging very high minutes on ice, Kukkonen’s job is to keep goals against to a minimum and make opposing players pay the price in front of the Karpat net. The fact the team has only given up 13 goals in 12 games is a testament to his effectiveness in this area. With the team's depth challenged somewhat with injuries in the Quarter-Finals, it was experienced players like Kukkonen and blueline partner Adam Masuhr who were called upon even more to lead. Then in the Semi-Finals, he scored his only goal in the CHL so far, which couldn't have come at a bigger time – with his team trailing 2–0 early in Rauma, his memorable slap-shot goal on the power play sparked a comeback win. Offensively, 21-year-old Markus Nutivaara has been a force from the back end with 9 points in 12 games, including a 2-point performance in their Semi-Final clinching tie on home ice.
.
Sami
Aittokallio
95.45 %
Top Goaltender: Aittokallio joined Karpat this past summer from the Colorado Avalanche organization. He has been a brick wall in CHL this season, allowing only 10 goals in 10 games, recording 5 shutouts. His save percentage of 95.45 and minuscule 1.00 goals-against average are almost difficult to comprehend. He took over the starting job while incumbent Iiro Tarkki was injured early in the season, and with Tarkki's recent retirement the job is now clearly Aittokallio's. He has been the key player in the triumphant run that Karpat have had in Europe so far and is one of the finalists for the NordicBet MVP Trophy.
Closer look: Frolunda Gothenburg
(8-0-1-3, 25 points, 47:20)
The most successful period in Frolunda's seven decades of playing hockey was the early 2000s, when they won two Swedish titles in three years – they had also previously won once in 1965. With stars on the team such as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and centre Daniel Alfredsson (playing back on the team of his youth during the 2004–05 NHL lockout), Frolunda have gained a reputation as Europe's best exporter of talent – a claim goes back to the days when the club produced Swedish NHL pioneers Ulf Sterner and Thommie Bergman. The team continues to be a talent factory, and as recently as 2014, eight Frolunda players were chosen in the NHL Entry Draft.
For the last decade, Frolunda have consistently been in the Swedish Hockey League's upper echelon, but a fifth title has managed to escape them. They've finished second in the regular season each of the past two years, but came up short of the league finals both times. And of course, they made it to the 2014–15 CHL Final and had a two-goal lead with a period to go, but let it slip through their fingers. This year they mean business. That's evident from the start to the domestic season, and the way they've advanced through the CHL, overcoming all sorts of obstacles by getting big goals when they need them.
A key to Frolunda's great offence is their power play, which has struck a CHL-leading 22 times so far, which is 10 more than any other team and accounts for nearly half of their goals. Blessed with a wealth of attacking talent, Frolunda have four players in the top 12 CHL point scorers in Lasch, Spencer Abbott, Artturi Lehkonen and Andreas Johnson. Domestically they have been just as dominant, losing only 9 of their first 37 games while out-scoring SHL opponents 136–82 to put themselves at the top of the standings.
Ryan
Lasch
6+9, +5
Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: When Frolunda lost CHL MVP centre Mathis Olimb in the off-season, they needed to replace the offence he produced and former TPS winger Ryan Lasch has done just that. The 28-year-old American is the number-two point-getter in the SHL and also leads the whole CHL in points and is a finalist for the NordicBet MVP Trophy. He made the difference in Frolunda's Round of 32 victory over Ingolstadt, scoring the overtime-winner on a spectacular individual effort. But on a team full of dangerous scorers, other forwards to watch out for are Swede Andreas Johnson, Canadian Spencer Abbott, and Finn Artturi Lehkonen, who is also an MVP finalist.
Henrik
Tommernes
3+6, +3
Top Defenceman: After failing getting a spot in Vancouver Canucks for two seasons, 25-year-old Henrik Tommernes has returned to the club where he started his professional career and spent five seasons before he went to North America. He’s a great all-round d-man with a great offensive mind. He scored a hat-trick (+1 assist) in the 9–1 win against the Sheffield Steelers and was the club's top scorer in the group stage with 8 points. While he's only added 1 assist in eight games during the playoff stage, he has continued his solid play in his own end, and still remains tied for the lead among CHL defencemen with 9 points in 12 games, even with Karpat's Nutivaara.
Lars
Johansson
93.22 %
Top Goaltender: 28-year-old Lars Johansson is starting his third season in Frolunda and has really gotten to prove that he deserves starting goalie job. The two previous seasons he and Linus Fernstrom pretty much split the job, alternating almost every game, but Johansson managed to out-compete Fernstrom in the playoffs and became the starter. This season he’s battling with former U20 World Champion (2012) and Senior World Champion (2013) Johan Gustafsson, who's back in Sweden after two seasons in North America. Johansson has started 9 CHL games so far and has won 8 of them with a 93.22 save percentage and 1.32 goals-against average. He played both Semi-Final games vs Davos an allowed only 1 goal on 44 shots – that coming when his team already had a 6-goal aggregate lead and a spot in the Final well in hand. While it's Frolunda's offence that gets most of the attention, he's made some timely saves – including a beauty in Davos with the outcome still in doubt – to help his team out.