Champions Hockey League

Switzerland are celebrating their first club triumph in the current format of the Champions Hockey League after Genève-Servette defeated Sweden’s Skellefteå 3-2 on Tuesday.

Genève-Servette had a sold-out arena behind them and the white-hot atmosphere roared them on to an energetic start. Just over five minutes in, Genève made that pressure count when Eliot Berthon collected the puck and put a back-hand shot past Linus Söderström to open the scoring.

It looked like Skellefteå would be in even more trouble two minutes later when Oskar Nilsson was sent to the penalty box on a tripping call; however, a spirited penalty kill seemed to wake the Swedish team up and they got back into the game on 11:35 when Martins Dzierkals fired a perfect shot past Jussi Olkinuora.

The good work by Skellefteå was then undone by a tripping call on Oscar Lindberg. Genève took advantage of the experimental powerplay rules in the CHL by scoring twice, first through Sakari Manninen on a cleverly designed play and then through former NHL player Daniel Winnik, who parked himself in front of the crease and tipped home a shot by Tim Berni.

The tone of the game changed in the Second Period as both teams increased their physicality. Skellefteå had an early chance to get back into it when Winnik was sent to the penalty box, but the Swedish team struggled to set up any prime scoring opportunities and that was a theme that continued throughout the period.

Genève have been strong defensively throughout their CHL campaign and they frustrated their opponents in the Final by breaking up the play and clearing a lane for experienced goalie Olkinuora to get a clear look at any shots Skellefteå were able to put on net.

The Swiss team almost shot themselves in the foot when they took a blatant ‘too-many-men’ penalty towards the end of the 2nd Period and Skellefteå did begin to put their hosts under pressure with the man advantage. They were unable to make a breakthrough, though. It summed up their luck that the one time they did get a good screen in front of Olkinuora resulted in Linus Lindström blocking teammate Max Lindholm’s shot rather than it finding a way through.

Skellefteå came out for the Third Period intent on turning the game around. Despite their best efforts, the game remained at 3-1 until Anton Heikkinen was able to break Genève’s resistance after eight minutes with an excellent wrist shot to bring them to within one goal.

With just over three minutes to go, the experienced Valtteri Filppula committed the cardinal sin of giving away a penalty for a trip deep in the offensive zone. The two minutes he spent in the penalty box must have felt more like two hours, but his teammates bailed him out with some committed blocks and Genève were able to hold on to claim the ultimate prize in European club hockey.

Skellefteå will be disappointed to narrowly fall short, particularly as their power play unit, that has been so potent in the Swedish Hockey League, continued its CHL struggles by going 0-for-3 in the Final. They will now focus on using this disappointment to fuel their tilt at the SHL championship.

As for Genève-Servette, their defence of their Swiss National League crown has not gone to plan so far, with the team sitting in 8th position; however, that hardly seemed to matter as they lifted the CHL Trophy in front of a jubilant home crowd.

The 2024 Champions Hockey League final on Tuesday February 20th will be contested by Sweden’s Skellefteå and Switzerland’s Genève-Servette.

The two teams were victorious on Tuesday against Vítkovice Ridera and Lukko Rauma respectively in two wonderfully enjoyable semi-final return legs.

Skellefteå hold on

Skellefteå were the favourites to go all the way once they knocked out fellow Swedish Hockey League team Färjestad in the Quarter Finals. They remain on course to live up to that billing, but Vítkovice pushed them all the way and the final hooter at the Kraft Arena was met with as much relief as it was joy from the Skellefteå fans.

The Swedish team had given themselves a great platform to build on by winning the first leg in Ostrava 4-2. The two-goal lead was increased to three just under six minutes into the return leg as the Winnipeg Jets’ prospect Elias Salomonsson stepped up from the blue line and fired a wrist-shot past Matěj Machovský.

The score remained the same until midway through the Second Period when Vítkovice scored on a power play through Marcel Barinka to make it 1-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate. The visitors would then get within one goal barely 90 seconds in to the Third Period, Marek Kalus tucking home a rebound past Linus Söderström, as Vítkovice piled the pressure on in a fast-paced finale.

They couldn’t quite get the extra goal they needed to send the game to Overtime and Skellefteå were able to hang on to make it through to their first CHL final by an aggregate score of 5-4.

A Famous Fightback

The other semi-final ended with the same aggregate scoreline; however this time it was the away team who skated off the ice as the victors.

Lukko Rauma would have been content with their efforts in the first leg, holding Genève-Servette to a 2-2 draw to ensure that any win at Kivikylän Areena in front of their home fans would be enough to make it through to the final.

It looked like everything was going to plan for Lukko when Jakob Stenqvist and Brayden Burke both scored in the first 12 minutes to give them a 4-2 aggregate lead. That was until Genève sensationally scored two goals in less than a minute late on in the Second Period through Valtteri Filppula and Sami Vatanen.

It set up a mouth-watering Third Period that quickly lived up to expectations. Filppula scored his second on the night barely five minutes into the period, stunning the Lukko fans and sending the pocket of travelling Genève-Servette supporters into ecstasy.

Just a few minutes later, Genève-Servette’s Simon Le Coultre was called for a Delaying the Game penalty and his two minutes in the penalty box must have felt like an eternity as he watched his teammates battling to protect their lead. They managed to do it and, despite a late flurry by Lukko, they held on throughout the rest of the period to become the first Swiss representatives in a CHL Final.

Vítkovice Ridera and Lukko Rauma should be proud of their efforts in a very competitive field across the CHL season despite the obvious disappointment of being so near and yet so far from glory.

As for Skellefteå and Genève-Servette, they have both made some club history by reaching the Final for the first time; however, they did not come this far to settle for the achievement of being a finalist.

Predictions on the result will have to wait until much nearer the time. The action needed right now is to book in the evening of February 20th as a must-watch event for all fans of European hockey.