CHL - Round of 16 - KalPa Kuopio v Friboug-Gotteron

Preview
The match-up of Friboug-Gotteron and KalPa Kuopio pits two teams that have rebounded from a season where they both finished last in their CHL groups. Now one of them will make the Quarter-Finals for the first time. Despite Fribourg winning their group and being strong both offensively and defensively through their first six games, KalPa must be considered the favourites here. Fribourg have had little trouble with opponents from the DEL, EBEL and Slovak Extraliga, while KalPa have had to contend with two SHL opponents as well as one from the EBEL. In addition, Fribourg currently sit 11th in the NLA, while KalPa are 2nd in the Liiga. Fribourg do possess some offensive firepower, but they haven't had to face an opponent as stingy as KalPa yet. However, if they manage to keep KalPa from scoring many goals, they have a chance.  

Closer look: Fribourg-Gotteron

(4-0-1-1, 13 points, 17:8)

Group F winners Fribourg-Gotteron started with two home games and scored a pair of three-goal wins, first shutting out Red Bull Munich 3-0 and then beating Orli Znojmo 5-2. After winning in Znojmo 3-1, they lost their final game by the same score in Munich – however, that result assured them top spot in the group. Like all Swiss teams, Fribourg looked very strong in the group stage and that continued in the Round of 32, where they earned a draw in Kosice, then won at home by 3 goals to advance. Things get a lot tougher for them now, however, as they face a Nordic team for the first time in this year's tournament.

Roman

Cervenka

5+2, +6

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Roman Cervenka joined Fribourg-Gottéron in the summer of 2016. The Czech forward has easily found his role within the Swiss club and scored right from the beginning – as he did before in other leagues he has played in. The 30-year-old centre has played previously in the NHL and KHL, and has represented the Czech Republic numerous times, including two Olympics and the recently completed World Cup of Hockey. He is scoring at a point per game in the NLA; however, his World Cup duty caused him to miss six games, so he trails Julien Sprunger and Andrei Bykov in team scoring. 

Yannick

Rathgeb

1+5, +7

 

Top Defenceman: Even though he is still very young, Yannick Rathgeb made a big impression to the fans and the coaches during his first complete NLA season in 2015-16. The 20-year-old Swiss rearguard was even invited for the Prospect Camp of the Chicago Blackhawks this summer. In this year's CHL campaign and in the early part of the NLA season, Rathgeb has shown himself to be solid defensively with the ability to contribute offensively as well. General Manager Christian Dube knows how important the young player can be for his team and announced that he will try to resign Rathgeb to a new contract – even though interest from other clubs will certainly be big.

Benjamin

Conz

95.07%

 

Top Goaltender: In front of the Fribourg net, Benjamin Conz has performed very well this season. He's played in five of the team's six games so far and allowed only 7 goals against, with an impressive save percentage of 95.1. The low number of goals against is one of the main reasons Fribourg are still in the competition and he'll have to keep those numbers low against a KalPa team that's very strong defensively – meaning that every goal will be important.

Closer look: KalPa Kuopio

(3-0-0-3, 9 points, 10:10)

KalPa were one of the more remarkable stories during the group stage, needing to win both of their last two games against the Vienna Capitals in regulation, and then doing it. They started with a pair of losses to Skelleftea AIK – 2-1 in Finland and then 4-0 in northern Sweden. In the first game against Vienna, at home, they trailed 1-0 halfway through the third and faced elimination before rallying for three late goals. They then scored another 3-1 win in Vienna to punch their ticket onward. Their momentum continued into the start of the Liiga season, where they sit 2nd after 11 games, and into the Round of 32, where they edged Djurgarden in a low-scoring series.

Jesse

Mankinen

2+1, even

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Jesse Mankinen is one of the most consistent goal scorers in this year's KalPa lineup. He played a hugely important role in the last CHL group game against the Vienna Capitals, scoring 2 significant goals and helping KalPa clinch a playoff berth. Mankinen has reached the 20-point mark and has scored over 10 goals in five consecutive seasons in the Finnish Liiga, and it's fair to expect more of the same this year as well. KalPa needs Mankinen's line, which includes Tommi Jokinen and Balazs Sebok, to remain productive for the team.

Jussi

Timonen

0+0, even

 

Top Defenceman: The younger brother of the former NHL player and Stanley Cup champion Kimmo Timonen, Jussi might not be the most productive defenceman as far as points are concerned, but what makes him really important for this KalPa squad is his veteran leadership. Timonen is the captain of this year's KalPa team and his experience and ability to lead its young defensive corps with his leadership is essential for the team. Timonen and Antti Halonen are the only two defencemen on this roster over the age of 25.

Eero

Kilpelainen

94.44%

 

Top Goaltender: No offence to Denis Godla, but Eero Kilpelainen isKalPa's starting goalie this year for sure. Kilpelainen was a key figure in the defensive-minded KalPa team last year, and he was widely considered the team's most valuable player. Kilpelainen played in 56 games last year in the Finnish Liiga with a save percentage of 92.7 and a goals-against average of 2.02. Kilpelainen is one of the main reasons why KalPa's defensive style is so effective both domestically and in the CHL, where he was probably the decisive factor in the two games against Djurgarden in the Round of 32, stopping 60 of 62 shots. 

Game One
The Round of 16 series between Fribourg-Gotteron and KalPa Kuopio started with a tie-game, making next week’s contest vital for both teams in Champions Hockey League play. Fribourg-Gotteron had very little problems in the games leading up to Tuesday’s contest, but with KalPa Kuopio facing tougher competition along the way and playing well in the process, the Finnish team looked to be the favourites coming in on home ice.
The first period proved that. Despite no score at either end, KalPa easily led the shot advantage 13-6 in the first period. Former World Junior star goalie Denis Godla had to make some big saves on the chances he had, but Dennis Saikkonen’s hard work for Fribourg was a major reason why the game stayed scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
Despite Gotteron having more offensive chances in the second, it would be KalPa would open the scoring. At 37:53 on the power play, KalPa’s top scorer, Jesse Mankinen, tipped in a pass from Juuso Riikola at the doorstep and beat Saikkonen at the doorstep to make it 1-0 for the visiting team. With 4:34 left in the game, Fribourg-Gotteron scored an important goal to tie the game up at one. Yannick Rathgeb was looking for someone in front to receive his pass, finding Julien Springer in a perfect spot at the right post. Sprunger had no issue with the puck, shoveling it over Godla and in for the 1-1 goal when it mattered most.
“We know they’re a very good team. They play fast, they play hungry and they’re well-coached,” said Fribourg head coach Larry Huras. “Being tied heading into game two is a good thing.”
With no overtime in the round, the two teams finished the contest with a tie game that will make next week’s match even more important, with the next goal taking the series. The team that scores the most in game two will be the team that moves on to the round-of-eight later in the year, with dreams of making it to the CHL Final looming on the horizon.
Game Two
120 minutes of play wasn’t enough to decide the winner between Fribourg-Gotteron and KalPa Kuopio, but Fribourg would take the 3-2 victory and the 4-3 victory overall in the Round of 16 to move on to the Quarter-Finals in December. It took just 7:24 of play, but KalPa were able to take the 2-1 lead in the series with a great goal. Playing with the man advantage, Matias Myttynen broke in on the net on the power play and fired a hard wrist shot past former Switzerland World Junior star Benjamin Conz for the 1-0 lead. But Fribourg bounced back to tie the game and the series up. Greg Mauldin would score a very similar goal after taking a pass from Killian Mottet, rushing in and beating Severi Kinnunen with a quick wrister to make it 1-1 in the game and 2-2 in the series. It was an important goal for Fribourg, who had an 11-6 shot advantage after a period of play.
Fribourg was hungry to take the lead, and they were able to take their first advantage of the series at 24:02. Julien Sprunger made a great play to steal the puck off of a KalPa defender and went in on a 2-on-1, feeding Michal Birner in front. Birner had no issue with the puck, tapping it in at the right post to make it 2-1 for the Swiss-based club. KalPa wasn’t ready to let Fribourg’s lead go to their head. With just over five minutes to go in the second, Tommi Jokinen skated near the net and beat Conz with a quick chance, tying the game at two-apiece in a truly back-and-forth contest. With no goals in the third, the two teams would play 3-on-3 overtime to decide the winner. After just 1:20 of play in the extra period, Yannick Rathgeb would use his lethal backhand to beat Dennis Godla through the legs to win the game and thus move Fribourg on to the next round.