2017–18 Champions Hockey League

2017–18 Champions Hockey League
Tournament details
Dates 24 August 2017 – 6 February 2018
Teams 32
Final positions
Champions  Finland JYP
Runner-up  Sweden Växjö Lakers
Third place  Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec
Tournament statistics
Matches played 125
Goals scored 735 (5.88 per match)
Attendance 421,134 (3,369 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Sweden Fredrik Pettersson
(16 points)
MVP Czech Republic Šimon Hrubec

The 2017–18 Champions Hockey League is the fourth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. The tournament was reduced to 32 teams, and qualification was on sporting merits only. The six founding leagues are represented by between three and five teams (based on a three-year league ranking), while seven "challenge leagues" are represented by one team each. One place was reserved for the Continental Cup champion. Unlike in the three previous editions, founding teams did not automatically qualify.[1] The season concluded with the final on 6 February 2018 at Vida Arena where JYP beat Växjö Lakers 2–0, becoming the first non-Swedish team to win the title.

Team allocation

A total of 32 teams from different European first-tier leagues participate in the 2017–18 Champions Hockey League. Besides the Continental Cup champions, 24 teams from the six founding leagues, as well as the national champions from Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, France, Belarus, Great Britain and Poland qualified.[2][3]

The qualification for these places was set out in the rules as follows:[4]

  1. National league champion (play-off winners)
  2. Regular season winners
  3. Regular season runner-up
  4. Losing play-off finalist
  5. Higher regular season ranked losing semi-finalist
  6. Lower regular season ranked losing semi-finalist
  7. Third placed team in regular season
  8. Fourth placed team in regular season
  9. Fifth placed team in regular season.

Teams

Team City/Area League Qualification Participation Previous best
Sweden Frölunda HC Gothenburg Swedish Hockey League 2017 CHL winner 4th champion
Sweden HV71 Jönköping Swedish Hockey League play-off champion 4th round of 16
Sweden Växjö Lakers Växjö Swedish Hockey League regular season winner 4th semi-finals
Sweden Brynäs IF Gävle Swedish Hockey League play-off finalist 1st
Sweden Malmö Redhawks Malmö Swedish Hockey League play-off semi-finalist 1st
Finland Tappara Tampere Liiga play-off champion 4th round of 16
Finland TPS Turku Liiga regular season runner-up 4th quarter-finals
Finland KalPa Kuopio Liiga play-off finalist 4th round of 16
Finland JYP Jyväskylä Liiga play-off semi-finalist 4th round of 16
Finland HIFK Helsinki Liiga play-off semi-finalist 4th quarter-finals
Switzerland SC Bern Bern National League play-off champion 4th quarter-finals
Switzerland ZSC Lions Zürich National League regular season runner-up 4th quarter-finals
Switzerland EV Zug Zug National League play-off finalist 4th round of 32
Switzerland HC Davos Davos National League play-off semi-finalist 3rd semi-finals
Czech Republic Kometa Brno Brno Czech Extraliga play-off champion 1st
Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec Liberec Czech Extraliga regular season winner 4th round of 16
Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec Třinec Czech Extraliga regular season runner-up 3rd round of 32
Czech Republic Mountfield HK Hradec Králové Czech Extraliga play-off semi-finalist 1st
Germany Red Bull München Munich Deutsche Eishockey Liga play-off champion 3rd round of 32
Germany Adler Mannheim Mannheim Deutsche Eishockey Liga regular season runner-up 4th round of 32
Germany Grizzlys Wolfsburg Wolfsburg Deutsche Eishockey Liga play-off finalist 2nd round of 32
Austria Vienna Capitals Vienna Austrian Hockey League play-off champion 4th round of 16
Austria Red Bull Salzburg Salzburg Austrian Hockey League regular season runner-up 4th round of 16
Austria EC KAC Klagenfurt Austrian Hockey League play-off finalist 2nd group stage
United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Elite Ice Hockey League Continental Cup winner 2nd group stage
United Kingdom Cardiff Devils Cardiff Elite Ice Hockey League regular season champion 1st
Slovakia HC '05 Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica Tipsport Liga play-off champion 1st
Norway Stavanger Oilers Stavanger GET-ligaen play-off champion 4th round of 32
Belarus Neman Grodno Grodno Belarusian Extraleague play-off champion 2nd group stage
Denmark Esbjerg Energy Esbjerg Metal Ligaen play-off champion 2nd group stage
France Rapaces de Gap Gap Ligue Magnus play-off champion 3rd group stage
Poland ComArch Cracovia Kraków Polska Hokej Liga play-off champion 2nd group stage

Group stage

Teams in the 2017–18 Champions Hockey League.
Black: Group A; Purple: Group B; Blue: Group C; Red: Group D; Orange: Group E; Green: Group F; White: Group G; Yellow: Group H.

For the group stage, the teams were drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each team plays home and away against every other team for a total of 6 games. The best 2 teams qualify to the round of 16.[1]

As the reigning CHL champions, Frölunda HC was the top seeded team. In the top pot were also the reigning champions of the six founding leagues and the regular season winner of SHL, Växjö Lakers. The 16 remaining teams from founding leagues were placed to pots 2 and 3. The fourth pot included playoff champions of seven challenge leagues and Nottingham Panthers, the champion of 2016–17 IIHF Continental Cup.

Group stage tie-breaking criteria

If two teams are tied in points after the group stage is finished, the teams precedence is decided by head-to-head games. If teams are tied after that, then the team which was ranked higher prior to the tournament will take precedence. When comparing head-to-head results, the following criteria will be applied:[5]

1. more points in games against the other tied team 2. better goal difference in games against the other tied team 3. more goals scored against the other tied team 4. more goals scored in a single game against the other tied team

If the head-to-head games between teams ended as draws after regulation, this additional criterion will be applied:

5. overtime wins against the other tied team

If the head-to-head games between teams ended with game winning shots, this additional criterion will be applied:

6. more goals scored in the two game winning shot competitions

If teams are still tied, the higher position in the 2016/17 CHL club ranking will decide about precedence.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Sweden Frölunda HC
Sweden HV71
Finland Tappara
Switzerland SC Bern
Czech Republic Kometa Brno
Germany Red Bull München
Austria Vienna Capitals
Sweden Växjö Lakers

Finland TPS
Switzerland ZSC Lions
Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec
Germany Adler Mannheim
Austria Red Bull Salzburg
Sweden Brynäs IF
Finland KalPa
Switzerland EV Zug

Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
Germany Grizzlys Wolfsburg
Austria EC KAC
Sweden Malmö Redhawks
Finland JYP
Switzerland HC Davos
Czech Republic Mountfield HK
Finland HIFK

Slovakia HC '05 Banská Bystrica
Norway Stavanger Oilers
Belarus Neman Grodno
Denmark Esbjerg Energy
United Kingdom Cardiff Devils
France Rapaces de Gap
Poland ComArch Cracovia
United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers

Group A

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TAP RBS WOB BAB
1 Finland Tappara 6 5 0 0 1 26 11 +15 15 Advance to Playoffs 4–2 4–2 3–0
2 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 6 3 0 0 3 20 22 2 9 1–6 4–3 5–0
3 Germany Grizzlys Wolfsburg 6 2 0 0 4 15 23 8 6 1–7 4–5 4–3
4 Slovakia HC '05 Banská Bystrica 6 2 0 0 4 13 18 5 6 5–2 5–3 0–1

Group B

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAL KOM KAL OIL
1 Sweden Malmö Redhawks 6 4 0 1 1 23 17 +6 13 Advance to Playoffs 3–0 6–2 2–1
2 Czech Republic Kometa Brno 6 2 3 0 1 18 15 +3 12 5–4 (OT) 3–2 (OT) 4–3 (OT)
3 Finland KalPa 6 3 0 1 2 25 22 +3 10 6–4 2–4 7–1
4 Norway Stavanger Oilers 6 0 0 1 5 13 25 12 1 3–4 1–2 4–6

Group C

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EVZ JYP NEM VIC
1 Switzerland EV Zug 6 3 1 0 2 20 16 +4 11 Advance to Playoffs 6–3 3–2 (SO) 3–1
2 Finland JYP 6 3 1 0 2 16 15 +1 11 3–2 3–2 (SO) 4–1
3 Belarus Neman Grodno 6 1 1 3 1 18 18 0 8 2–3 3–0 5–4 (OT)
4 Austria Vienna Capitals 6 1 1 1 3 17 22 5 6 5–3 1–3 5–4 (SO)

Group D

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAN TRI HV71 ESB
1 Germany Adler Mannheim 6 5 0 0 1 26 12 +14 15 Advance to Playoffs 6–2 6–3 4–1
2 Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 6 4 0 1 1 20 10 +10 13 3–0 3–0 9–1
3 Sweden HV71 6 2 1 0 3 16 16 0 8 1–4 2–1 (SO) 3–0
4 Denmark Esbjerg Energy 6 0 0 0 6 7 31 24 0 2–6 1–2 2–7

Group E

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VLH LIB HCD CAR
1 Sweden Växjö Lakers 6 4 1 0 1 22 16 +6 14 Advance to Playoffs 6–3 5–3 3–2
2 Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec 6 3 0 1 2 24 21 +3 10 3–4 (OT) 4–3 5–2
3 Switzerland HC Davos 6 2 0 1 3 22 19 +3 7 0–3 3–2 10–1
4 United Kingdom Cardiff Devils 6 1 1 0 4 17 29 12 5 5–1 3–7 4–3 (OT)

Group F

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NOT SCB TPS MHK
1 United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers 6 3 1 0 2 18 17 +1 11 Advance to Playoffs 4–2 2–0 4–3 (OT)
2 Switzerland SC Bern 6 3 0 0 3 21 16 +5 9 5–2 4–0 5–2
3 Finland TPS 6 3 0 0 3 12 15 3 9 5–2 3–1 3–1
4 Czech Republic Mountfield HK 6 2 0 1 3 18 21 3 7 2–4 5–4 5–1

Group G

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RBM BIF HIFK CRA
1 Germany Red Bull München 6 5 0 0 1 21 11 +10 15 Advance to Playoffs 2–3 4–1 6–2
2 Sweden Brynäs IF 6 4 1 0 1 25 12 +13 14 2–3 4–3 (OT) 8–0
3 Finland HIFK 6 2 0 1 3 20 20 0 7 2–4 2–5 6–3
4 Poland ComArch Cracovia 6 0 0 0 6 8 31 23 0 1–2 2–3 0–6

Group H

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FHC ZSC KAC GAP
1 Sweden Frölunda HC 6 5 1 0 0 21 10 +11 17 Advance to Playoffs 5–4 (OT) 2–1 5–1
2 Switzerland ZSC Lions 6 3 0 2 1 24 10 +14 11 1–2 3–0 4–0
3 Austria EC KAC 6 2 1 0 3 15 15 0 8 2–4 2–1 (OT) 4–2
4 France Rapaces de Gap 6 0 0 0 6 8 33 25 0 1–3 1–11 3–6

Playoffs

Qualified teams

Group Winners (seed) Runners-up
A Finland Tappara (2) Austria Red Bull Salzburg
B Sweden Malmö Redhawks (6) Czech Republic Kometa Brno
C Switzerland EV Zug (7) Finland JYP
D Germany Adler Mannheim (3) Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec
E Sweden Växjö Lakers (5) Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec
F United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers (8) Switzerland SC Bern
G Germany Red Bull München (4) Sweden Brynäs IF
H Sweden Frölunda HC (1) Switzerland ZSC Lions

Format

In each round except the final, the teams will play two games and the aggregate score will decide the team which advances. As a rule, the first leg will be hosted by the team who has inferior record in the tournament so far and the second leg will be played on the home ice of the other team. If aggregate score is tied, a sudden death overtime will follow. If the overtime is scoreless, the team who wins the game winning shot competition advances.[5]

The final will be played on the home ice of team who has better record in the tournament on February 6, 2018.

Bracket

The 8 group winners and the 8 second-placed teams advanced to the Round of 16. The teams were divided into two seeding groups and group winners were randomly drawn against runners-up. Teams who had faced each other in the group stage couldn't be drawn against each other in the round of 16.[5] The draw took place in Helsinki, Finland on October 13, 2017.[6]

  Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                         
 Finland JYP 3 2 5  
 Finland Tappara 1 3 4  
   Finland JYP 3 5 8  
   Czech Republic Kometa Brno 3 3 6  
 Czech Republic Kometa Brno 4 5 9
 Switzerland EV Zug 3 2 5  
   Finland JYP (SO) 4 3 7  
   Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 2 4 6  
 Sweden Brynäs IF 3 2 5  
 Germany Adler Mannheim 2 1 3  
   Sweden Brynäs IF 1 3 4
   Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 3 5 8  
 Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 2 2 4
 Sweden Malmö Redhawks 1 1 2  
   Finland JYP 2
   Sweden Växjö Lakers 0
 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 2 3 5  
 Sweden Växjö Lakers 1 5 6  
   Sweden Växjö Lakers 2 4 6
   Switzerland SC Bern 3 2 5  
 Switzerland SC Bern 2 5 7
 Germany Red Bull München 3 2 5  
   Sweden Växjö Lakers 1 6 7
   Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec 1 1 2  
 Switzerland ZSC Lions 3 3 6  
 United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers 1 0 1  
   Switzerland ZSC Lions 1 0 1
   Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec (SO) 0 2 2  
 Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec (OT) 2 6 8
 Sweden Frölunda HC 3 4 7  

Note:

  1. The teams listed on top of each tie were runners up in the group stage and play the first leg at home. The bottom team were group winners and play the second leg at home. Due to conflicting schedules however, both Malmö Redhawks and Adler Mannheim ended up playing their first legs at home.
  2. The order of the legs (what team starts at home) in the future rounds may be changed as the team with best record should have second match at home.

Round of 16

The draw for the entire playoff was held on 13 October 2017 in Helsinki. The first legs were played on 31 October with return legs played the following week.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
JYP Finland 5–4 Finland Tappara 3–1 2–3
Kometa Brno Czech Republic 9–5 Switzerland EV Zug 4–3 5–2
Brynäs IF Sweden 5–3 Germany Adler Mannheim 3–2 2–1
Oceláři Třinec Czech Republic 4–2 Sweden Malmö Redhawks 2–1 2–1
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 5–6 Sweden Växjö Lakers 2–1 3–5
SC Bern Switzerland 7–5 Germany Red Bull München 2–3 5–2
ZSC Lions Switzerland 6–1 United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers 3–1 3–0
Bílí Tygři Liberec Czech Republic 8–7 Sweden Frölunda HC 2–3 6–4 OT

Quarter-finals

First legs were played on 5 December, return legs were played on 12 December.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
JYP Finland 8–6 Czech Republic Kometa Brno 3–3 5–3
Brynäs IF Sweden 4–8 Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 1–3 3–5
Växjö Lakers Sweden 6–5 Switzerland SC Bern 2–4 3–2
ZSC Lions Switzerland 1–2 Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec 1–0 0–2 SO

Semi-finals

First legs were played on 9 January, return legs were played on 16 January 2018.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
JYP Finland 7–6 Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 4–2 3–4 SO
Växjö Lakers Sweden 7–2 Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec 1–1 6–1

Final

The final was played on 6 February 2018.

6 February 2018
18:45
Växjö Lakers Sweden0–2
(0–0, 0–1, 0–1)
Finland JYPVida Arena, Växjö
Attendance: 5,750

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Player Team GP G A PTS PIM +/– GWG PPG SHG SOG S%
Sweden Fredrik PetterssonSwitzerland ZSC Lions997164+74403724.32%
United States Ryan LaschSweden Frölunda HC7411154+52102119.05%
Slovakia Martin BakošCzech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec10104144+51314223.81%
Canada Andrew EbbettSwitzerland SC Bern1047112–50103013.33%
Czech Republic Jiří PolanskýCzech Republic Oceláři Třinec12381110+50101816.67%
Sweden Joel PerssonSweden Växjö Lakers13110112+4010323.13%
Canada Kevin ClarkSweden Brynäs IF846102+32203112.9%
Finland Jarkko ImmonenFinland JYP1246106+30103710.81%
Sweden Robert NilssonSwitzerland ZSC Lions819100+6000147.14%
Sweden Adam AlmqvistSweden Frölunda HC7010104+5000140.00%

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Leading goaltenders

Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.

Player Team GP W L SV GA SV% GAA SO MIN
Czech Republic Šimon HrubecCzech Republic Oceláři Třinec10912781196.19%1.072615
Switzerland Niklas SchlegelSwitzerland ZSC Lions53283495.40%0.782309
Czech Republic Tomáš DubaAustria EC KAC32187594.57%1.670180
Switzerland Lukas FlüelerSwitzerland ZSC Lions532122893.85%1.592301
Finland Juho OlkinuoraFinland JYP9612451793.51%2.061495

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Attendance

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change Average in
the national
leagues 2016–17
Arena capacity
1Switzerland SC Bern53,08413,7635,93110,61716,39917,031
2Germany Adler Mannheim23,3176,7944,1765,82910,81213,600
3United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers19,7886,5983,8014,9475,7457,500
4Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec24,9175,7183,1684,1535,9407,500
5Sweden Växjö Lakers28,6745,7501,2754,0964,7575,750
6Switzerland EV Zug15,9034,9253,0653,9766,4367,200
7Finland Tappara15,7434,2213,7803,9365,5977,300
8Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec23,5265,0482,5023,9214,6915,200
9Czech Republic Kometa Brno19,1434,9633,0673,8297,6007,700
10Switzerland ZSC Lions17,6685,1122,1003,5349,21411,200
11Norway Stavanger Oilers10,0734,2502,7563,3584,0044,377
12Finland HIFK9,9393,6332,8083,3137,0898,200
13Finland JYP19,2083,8882,3173,2013,4704,628
14Czech Republic Mountfield HK9,3063,5192,5673,1025,0856,890
15Poland ComArch Cracovia9,0135,3001,8073,0041,62915,030
16Finland TPS8,9163,1992,8122,9725,61211,820
17Austria EC KAC7,7583,8891,6532,5863,6705,088
18Sweden Frölunda HC10,1553,1281,5702,5399,02912,312
19Switzerland HC Davos7,4723,0351,9172,4914,7927,080
20United Kingdom Cardiff Devils7,3072,7022,1052,4363,2693,088
21Germany Red Bull München9,5702,6902,1502,3934,8586,136
22Germany Grizzlys Wolfsburg6,9322,6052,0582,3112,6874,503
21Sweden Brynäs IF11,0334,2521,2562,2075,4257,909
24Belarus Neman Grodno6,7352,4501,8752,2451,3762,487
25Austria Vienna Capitals6,5002,4002,0002,1674,4207,022
26Finland KalPa6,2832,5911,6872,0943,4295,064
27Sweden HV716,0702,1561,8712,0236,4817,000
28Slovakia HC '05 Banská Bystrica5,8912,0631,9131,9642,3802,840
29Austria Red Bull Salzburg7,8172,5611,4271,9542,7303,500
30France Rapaces de Gap5,1891,9771,4851,7302,1302,800
31Sweden Malmö Redhawks4,9761,6624481,2446,85212,600
32Denmark Esbjerg Energy3,2281,2369791,0761,8054,200
League total421,13413,7634483,369

References

  1. 1 2 "New CHL format for 2017–18! 32 teams & on-ice qualification only". championshockeyleague.net. 2016-06-14. Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  2. "Nottingham Panthers confirmed for 2017-18". championshockeyleague.net. 2017-01-25.
  3. "Wildcard spots confirmed for Poland and Great Britain". championshockeyleague.net. 2017-03-14. Archived from the original on 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  4. "Number of teams for founding leagues in 2017-18 confirmed". championshockeyleague.net. 2017-02-13. Archived from the original on 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  5. 1 2 3 "CHL sport regulations 2017/18" (PDF). championshockeyleague.net. Champions Hockey League. p. 15. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. "Watch the playoff draw live on 13 October". championshockeyleague.com. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  7. http://www.championshockeyleague.com/en/statistics#tab_statistics=teams
  8. http://www.championshockeyleague.com/en/schedule#select_schedule=0
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