Read below about information about the Champions Hockey League final game between Luleå Hockey and Frölunda Gothenburg, which was played Tuesday, 3 February in Luleå. Luleå won on home ice by a 4-2 score to claim the CHL title.

LHF 4–2 FHC

Final

3. 2., 20:15 CET

GAME REPORT | LIVE BLOG | HIGHLIGHTS

Preview

It has long been felt that aside from perhaps the KHL, Sweden’s top hockey circuit – currently in its second season of officially being called the Swedish Hockey League – may be Europe’s top overall ice hockey league. When the first pucks were dropped to kick off the Champions Hockey League 2014–15 season last August, eight SHL clubs were at the starting line ready to show the hockey world that exactly that is the case. Having more team representatives than any league other than the Finnish Liiga, which also sent eight teams into league competition, it was widely expected that a Swedish club would make its way to the final contest.

Expectations met!

But check that, as now it’ll be two.

Long-time top Swedish clubs Frolunda Gothenburg and Lulea Hockey will face off against each other in this inaugural CHL final. They’re very familiar with each other, having already met four times this season with Frolunda having taken seven of the 12 possible points, most recently with a 4–1 victory on 22 January. Lulea’s lone victory was a 1–0 goaltending duel that was similar to the 3–2 and 2–1 overtime victories for Frolunda – displaying that the teams tend to keep things tight.

Besides an incredibly hard-fought battle between two teams that have no love lost for each other, Frolunda are coming in on a bit of hot streak having taken three of the last four games in league play and, of course, making their way to the final. This has clearly boosted their morale as the team had lost four of six games over the holidays. They also feature four of the CHL’s top five scorers, with Lulea’s Daniel Zaar being the only exception. Overall, these two teams are the top two scoring teams in the CHL with 56 and 64 goals scored, respectively.

With both teams having had little problem putting pucks in the net, the goaltenders are going to have to prove better than the man standing across from them on the other side of the ice. Whichever can shut down more of the other team’s offence, that player will be the key to a championship.

A powerhouse in the CHL and SHL, Frolunda will then face this Lulea club wondering which face it will show – the one seen now in the regular SHL season or that of a very impressive CHL run.

We’ll all find out on 3 February at the Coop Norbotten Arena in Lulea.

Closer look: Luleå Hockey

(9-0-1-2, 28 points, 54:22)

Lulea had to get through reigning two-time SHL champion Skelleftea AIK, a semi-final series that started out with a tie in the first leg of the semi-final in Skelleftea, meaning the winner of their second game would head to the final. Ultimately it was Lulea, who led 2–1 after one period, that opened up a two-goal lead late in the second period, then held on to win by one. The biggest reasons for the victory were the team’s penalty killing, which only surrendered one goal on seven Skelleftea power plays, and the goaltending of Joel Lassinantti, who stopped 24 of 26 shots.

With that two-goal lead, Lulea completely shut down Skelleftea in the third period, limiting their northern Swedish rivals to just three shots. Skelleftea did score a late goal with 1:09 to play, however – they were shorthanded, but played five-a-side with goalie Erik Hanses on the bench to cut that lead to one.

In the end, Lulea held on to the victory and gained home-rink advantage for the final in the process. With 5540 fans in attendance in the northern coastal town featuring just over 46 000 inhabitants, the club will be looking to have the house full in attempt to cheer on the team to what will likely be its only championship shot this winter.

While Kärpät have been hard to beat through their first 10 CHL games, it's important to note that Frölunda will be the first Swedish club that they face.

Daniel

Zaar

7+7, +5

CRAMO Top Scorer: Lulea have been a bit of an offensive juggernaut in CHL play with 54 goals scored in 12 games. A couple of youngsters, both NHL-drafted, are two of the team’s top three scorers in CHL play. Daniel Zaar has seven goals and 14 points while linemate Lucas Wallmark is right behind him with five goals and 11 points, both in 12 contests. They sandwich Finn Niklas Fogstrom, who comes in with five goals and 12 points in as many games and come in just in front of veteran Swede Per Ledin, who has five goals and 11 points in 10 games.

Kristian

Näkyvä

3+7, +12

Top Defenceman: Finnish defenceman Kristian Nakyva leads the team’s defencemen with three goals and 10 points in 12 contests. He's also among the team scoring leaders in SHL play as well with 21 points (8+13) in 41 games. Nakyva's been impressive so far in his first season in Sweden, and said in an interview that the Swedish style of play suits his game.

Joel

Lassinantti

93.92 %

Top Goaltender: Any look at Lulea’s success thus far will show that goalie Joel Lassinantti has continued to impress with a 93.92 save percentage and 1.43 goals-against average in just seven outings. He’s been brought in to save the day on several occasions and has only allowed nine goals against on 139 shots, continuing to be an absolute match-winner. Partner Daniel Larsson just hasn’t been the same with a sub-90 save percentage and there’s little doubt Lassinantti will be given the nod. Lassinantti has also been the better of the two in league play, but only slightly with an 11–3–12 record, a .929 save percentage, and a 1.86 GAA. That has him ranked third best amongst goaltenders in league play.

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: Frölunda Gothenburg

(9-0-0-3, 27 points, 56:25)

In their semi-final, Frolunda had to knock off the last Liiga representative, Karpat Oulu, in a tight second contest that led to a mere 6–5 aggregate victory in overtime. After having won their first match in Gothenburg by a 4–2 score, Frolunda actually lost 3–1 in Oulu, which led to a sudden-death, overtime period to decide who’d be off to the final.

There, Karpat had the best chance to win the game quickly in the extra period as Frolunda's Niklas Lasu was called for tripping, but they couldn't put the puck in the net. Almost three minutes later, Karpat's Arto Laatikainen was sent to the penalty box for hooking and it took Erik Gustafsson just 1:09 of extra-man time to bat the puck out of the air after a Mathis Olimb shot just missed going in and bounced out into play only to "lose" the game 3–2, but take the series aggregate score for Frolunda.

Mathis

Olimb

7+18, +11

CRAMO Top Scorer: Leading the way for Frolunda and the CHL are Norwegian Mathias Olimb (7–18–25 in 12 games), Swedish forward Andreas Johnsson (11–13–24 in 11 games) and Swedish defenceman Erik Gustafsson (6–13–19 in 12 games). Coming in fifth is Swedish forward and ‘93-born Nashville Predators prospect Max Gortz (6–8–14 in 12 games). The offence continues to be spread out quite a bit as 14 players have at least two goals in CHL play and the team’s 56 goals scored in 12 games leads the entire CHL competition.

Erik

Gustafsson

6+13, +7

Top Defenceman: Gustafsson's 19 points after 12 games leads all CHL defencemen and, in fact, places him third in overall scoring after teammates Olimb and Johnsson. His SHL numbers aren't too shabby either, with 19 points in his first 30 games. After Gustafsson, No CHL blueliner has more than 10 points – Red Bull Salzburg's Matthias Trattnig and Lulea's Nakyva.

Linus

Fernström

90.67%

Top Goaltender: In SHL play, Linus Fernstrom sports a 14–5–6 record with a 1.86 GAA – second-best in the league. However, he’s only played four CHL contests with statistics that aren’t quite as impressive. In general, the goaltending Frolunda have received hasn’t been like that of Lulea’s. Lars Johansson has played in eight of Frolunda’s 12 games and only features an 89.76 save percentage and 2.23 GAA. Both marks leave him outside of the CHL top 25 goalies in the tournament(!) – granted many only played half as many games. Both Johansson and Fernstrom come into question for the final match.

Click here for team statistics.