There's not as much drama in Group F as in some of the other groups, with all four teams already fixed into position. Linkoping HC have won the group, while HC Bolzano and HC Pardubice will play their last games on Game Day 6. However, for TPS Turku, a wild-card spot in the final 16 could depend on how many points they pick up in their last game.
by Derek O'Brien, with contribution from Vilja Paatalo
From the beginning, the main battle for Group F has seemed to be Linkoping HC and TPS Turku. The two teams faced each other in Turku on Game Day 5 and Linkoping, with a one-point lead, had a chance to wrap up the group with a win and that's exactly what they did. It wasn't easy, though.
TPS and Linkoping traded goals in all three periods, then the Swedish visitors won in a shootout, with Broc Little scoring the only goal and Marcus Hogberg stopping all three TPS attempts. Tadas Kumeliauskas and Marko Virtala each recorded two points for TPS, while Jacob Micflikier did likewise for Linkoping.
"This was not the best game from us. We went for the win but we couldn't get it. Now we need to change something because we need to beat Linkoping in Sweden," said TPS's Mikko Rantanen, who scored the first goal of the game. Describing it, he said it was "Kumaliauskas with a beautiful pass and it was easy to score, so thanks to him."
The other game featured a pair of teams with no chance to advance, but pride was on the line as both teams wanted to avoid the group cellar. Pardubice has been in every game but lost a pair of one-goal games and another in a shootout for their only point. Meanwhile, after getting blown out in their first two games, HC Bolzano has steadily improved, earning a split at home against the top two teams in the group before winning 3–1 in Pardubice to secure no lower than third place in the group. Marco Insam scored twice, including the game-winner that broke a 1–1 tie early in the second period, then an empty-netter in the late going. Bolzano goalie Jaroslav Hrubl, a Czech, was impressive again, stopping 28 of 29 shots.
"For us it was a big win," said Bolzano coach Mario Simioni. "We were a tired team because it was our third game in four days (following two EBEL games on the weekend), so I'm very happy with our team's performance. The first goal was very important for us because then the guys knew that we really have a chance to win this hockey game. We stuck to our game plan and Pardubice is a really good team – they out-shot us, but our goaltender played really well and we did the necessary things to win the game."
The win means that Bolzano will definitely finish third place in Group F. The best they can hope for on Game Day 6 is to move into a tie against TPS, but the Finnish squad would win the tie-breaker via head-to-head goal difference, and nine points wouldn't be enough anyway to get a second place wild-card spot.
That makes this a rare group where the order of finish is already known, but the last game is still big for TPS – the more points they get, the better chance they have of gaining a wild-card spot, with a three-point win nearly guaranteeing it.
Goup F standings
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF:GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linkoping HC | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19:8 | +11 | 14 |
| TPS Turku | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19:11 | +8 | 9 |
| HC Bolzano | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8:19 | -11 | 6 |
| HC Pardubice | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8:16 | -8 | 1 |
Schedule and results
| Date | Time | Group | Home | Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22.08.2014 | 18:30 | Group F | TPS Turku | HC Bolzano | 9:0 (2:0, 6:0, 1:0) |
| 22.08.2014 | 20:05 | Group F | Linkoping HC | HC Pardubice | 2:1 (1:0, 0:0, 1:1) |
| 24.08.2014 | 14:35 | Group F | Linkoping HC | HC Bolzano | 5:0 (2:0, 2:0, 1:0) |
| 24.08.2014 | 16:00 | Group F | TPS Turku | HC Pardubice | 2:1 (0:1, 0:0, 2:0) |
| 05.09.2014 | 17:30 | Group F | HC Pardubice | Linkoping HC | 3:6 (1:4, 2:0, 0:2) |
| 05.09.2014 | 20:00 | Group F | HC Bolzano | TPS Turku | 4:2 (2:2, 0:0, 2:0) |
| 07.09.2014 | 17:30 | Group F | HC Pardubice | TPS Turku | 2:3 (1:2, 1:0, 0:0, 0:0, 0:1) |
| 07.09.2014 | 18:30 | Group F | HC Bolzano | Linkoping HC | 1:2 (0:0, 0:1, 1:1) |
| 23.09.2014 | 17:30 | Group F | HC Pardubice | HC Bolzano | 1:3 (0:1, 1:1, 0:1) |
| 24.09.2014 | 18:30 | Group F | TPS Turku | Linkoping HC | 3:4 (1:1, 1:1, 1:1, 0:0, 0:1) |
| 07.10.2014 | 19:45 | Group F | HC Bolzano | HC Pardubice | |
| 07.10.2014 | 20:05 | Group F | Linkoping HC | TPS Turku |
Game Day 6 possibilities
For an explanation of how the final 16 teams are determined, click here.
Linkoping HC: Already clinched 1st place.
TPS Turku: Already clinched 2nd place. 2nd place wild-card spot highly probable but not guaranteed with 3 points, less probable with 2 points and highly unlikely with 1 point. Cannot advance with 0 points.