The Champions Hockey League is back after a Christmas break and we’ve reached the Semi-Final stage.
The Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland are all represented in what should be a very competitive set of games.
The CHL Semi-Finals are played over two legs with an aggregate score determining the winner. The first legs take place on Tuesday 9th, with the return legs played one week later on 16 January.
Full details can be found on the official tournament website: https://www.championshockeyleague.com/en
VÃtkovice Ridera vs SkellefteÃ¥
The action begins in Ostrava as Czech side VÃtkovice Ridera host Swedish team SkellefteÃ¥ in the first leg of their semi-final.
VÃtkovice received a big stroke of good luck in the Round of 16 when Lahti Pelicans’ ice rink failed them and forced a 3-0 forfeit that the Czechs turned into a 4-1 aggregate win. Their Quarter-Final win over Rapperswil-Jona Lakers had no such luck about it though as they fought back from a 2-1 first leg deficit with a stunning 5-1 home victory to earn a Semi-Final spot in style.
Their CHL run has been in stark contrast to their domestic form in the Czech Tipsport Extraliga. VÃtkovice are third from bottom after taking just 11 wins from their 31 games so far. They lost 4-2 at home to league-leading Sparta Praha on Sunday with former Ottawa Senator Filip ChlapÃk getting two goals and an assist for the away team.
As for Skellefteå, they sit fifth in the Swedish Hockey League and picked up an excellent 2-1 away win against Växjö Lakers on Saturday. It was the Johnson brothers who did the damage and their recent form has been important to the fortunes of Skellefteå.
Andreas decided to head back to Sweden on a 3-year deal in early November after not finding a roster spot with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Unsurprisingly it took him a little while to get up to speed, but he’s settled into a forward line with Pär Lindholm and Dylan Sikura that is really starting to tick.
As for his older brother Jonathan, he’s worked his way back from a 10-week injury lay-off and has got back into his stride relatively quickly, recording a point in four of the five SHL games he’s played since returning to the ice on 28 December.
Skellefteå knocked out current SHL leaders Färjestad in the Quarter-Final stage. Swedish teams have won the CHL six times out of eight since the new format began in 2014-15 and Skellefteå had their best finish that season by making the Semi-Final, so they may see this as a golden opportunity to claim the crown for the first time.
However, it looks like they will have to get through the Semi-Final stage without their star young defender Axel Sandin Pellikka. He played through an upper-body injury in the recent World Junior final and is reportedly out for at least a week, taking away a lethal weapon from the blueline and on the powerplay.
Genève-Servette vs Lukko Rauma
Genève currently sit sixth in the Swiss National League with 19 wins from 35 games. They come into their CHL Semi-Final in good form having won four consecutive league games, including a 4-3 Overtime win in Davos on Saturday.
Experienced Finnish goaltender Jussi Olkinuora was in net in that game and he has been a regular between the pipes for Genève since moving from fellow CHL-entrant Lahti Pelicans on 11 December. Expect him to start again on Tuesday.
There’s a strong Finnish element in Genève with their top four points-scorers in the National League all hailing from there: Sami Vatanen, Sakari Manninen, Teemu Hartikainen and Valtteri Filppula. Three of the four (Manninen being the exception) have NHL experience and they’ll be relied upon to lead the charge, no doubt excited at the prospect of knocking out a Finnish team in the process.
Lukko Rauma are also currently in sixth position in their domestic league, the Finnish Liiga. Sebastian Repo leads the team with 32 points from 36 Liiga games (an even 16 goals and 16 assists) and he’s got 9 points from 9 games in the CHL, with teammate Tarmo Reunanen just ahead with 10 points to the lead the team.
Lukko earned a 3-2 win at home against Karpat on Saturday, allowing them to go into the semi-final first leg on a high having lost their previous two league games.
The CHL trophy current resides in Finland thanks to Tappara Tampere’s triumph last season. Lukko Rauma will be doing their level best to keep it there.
