Preview
This Round of 32 match-up features two teams that had rather different group stage experiences. HV71 got off to a strong start and locked up their group without much problem, while Lukko started slow and advanced despite only winning one game. This also features the high-flying offence of HV71 – who scored 5 goals in each of their three wins and have three players with at least 5 points – and the normally stingy defence of Lukko, who are traditionally low in star power but high in team play. Also, it's never boring when Swedish and Finnish teams face each other. Of note, despite being a group winner, HV71 will host the first game in Jonkoping due to an arena conflict the following week. The second leg will be played in Rauma.
Closer look: HV71 Jonkoping
(3-0-0-1, 9 points, 16:9, 1st in Group P)
For the second year in a row, HV71 topped their group, which included Red Bull Salzburg – a team that they were grouped with for the third year in a row – and the Sheffield Steelers. After winning their first three games, they lost the last one to Salzburg. However, that was good enough to finish on top. As is usually the case, things will start getting more difficult now, as they face a team that has twice gone deep into the CHL playoffs the last two years.
Martin
Thornberg
4+4, +1
Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Martin Thornberg leads the CHL in points after the group stage with 8 and has been the best player overall for HV71 so far this season. He scored only 13 SHL goals last season including the playoffs, but this season has started very well. Recently he has played together with Ted Brithen, and time will tell if HV71 have themselves a dynamic duo in these two players.
Dylan
Reese
1+3, +3
Top Defenceman: It's hard to pick a top defencemen for HV71 this season, but Dylan Reese has 4 points in the tournament so far. Dylan joined HV71 this year playing last season for the AHL's Springfield Falcons. Has adjusted to the bigger ice surprisingly quickly and is useful both on offence and defence. He is used on the power play as a point man.
Fredrik
Pettersson-Wenzel
88.89%
Top Goaltender: Both Linus Soderstrom and Fredrik Pettersson-Wenzel have played quite well so far. But in the CHL playoffs, coach Johan Lindbom most likely will play Pettersson-Wenzel, who is more experienced in important games like this. Fredrik has to step up a level, as his save percentage so far is a little too low for a goalie as good as him.
Closer look: Lukko Rauma
(1-0-1-2, 4 points, 9:9, 2nd in Group D)
Lukko Rauma finished as runners-up in Group D behind ZSC Lions Zurich, the Swiss team that beat them twice. After that slow start, a big 6-1 win in Ingolstadt secured their place in the next round, before losing to Ingolstadt at home. Despite their less-than-stellar showing in the group stage, this is a team that has gone to the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals the last two CHL seasons, so confidence shouldn't be a problem.
Aaron
Gagnon
1+2, +2
Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Starting his fourth season in Finland, the Canadian-born playmaker has been adopted as a fan favourite among Lukko fans. What Aaron Gagnon lacks in height (178 cm) he makes up with great puck-control and anticipation. He plays centre in Rauma but can handle the winger's role if needed. Gagnon was Lukko's top scorer in the Finnish league regular season in 2015-16. He is said to be one of the all-time best import players in Lukko.
Janne
Niskala
2+0, +3
Top Defenceman: Janne Niskala’s eminent shot is definitely his top trademark. 16 years of professional hockey have turned this newly announced team captain into a true cornerstone in the defensive end. He skates well, passes often and accurately and shoots well. Niskala has played in all of the five top-ranked hockey leagues in the world: NHL (Tampa Bay Lightning), KHL (Metallurg Magnitogorsk, HK Atlant, Atlant Mytishchi), SHL (Farjestad, Frolunda), NLA (EV Zug) and Liiga (Lukko).
Kaapo
Kahkonen
94.59 %
Top Goaltender: Kaapo Kahkonen was on his way to becoming an elite goalie in Finnish hockey at an early age on as he got selected as 2nd-tier league Mestis's best goaltender and rookie of the year in the 2014-15 season — then he became a national hero overnight by carrying the Finnish U20 team to World Junior Championship in January 2016. He was drafted in 2014 by the Minnesota Wild, but hasn’t had his chance in the NHL yet. 20-year-old Kähkönen is only the second-youngest goalie in Lukko: the team’s third-string goalie after Kahkonen and Antti Karjalainen (born 1995) is Lassi Lehtinen, age 17.
Martin Thornberg is back home. Born in Jonkoping, he was raised in the HV71 system and turned pro with his hometown club at the age of 19. He made an immidiate impact, scoring a point per game in the playoffs as HV71 won the Swedish league title in 2004.
Over the next seven years, the gifted goal-scoring winger but up big numbers and helped HV71 to two more titles and a berth in the original Champions Hockey League in 2008-09. In 2011 he went abroad, and played four seasons in the KHL with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Lev Prague and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Last season he returned home and had a decent season, helping HV71 reach the CHL Round of 16 with four points in eight games. In the SHL, he had 39 points in 55 regular season and playoff games.
This season he's off to a superb start, starting with four goals and four assists in four CHL group-stage games, helping HV71 top Group P. That makes him the Cramo Top Scorer for the whole CHL, and he's continued his hot hand into the start of the SHL regular season, with two goals in the first two games.
With the CHL Round of 32 on the horizon, he spoke about his season so far.
Martin, would you say the start for you and the team has been better this season, if you compare to last year?
"Yes, it feels better than it did last year. And a big reason for this is that our pre-season has been less chaotic for the club, so we've had lots of time to build up our squad. Another reason is that we've added two great assistant coaches in Stephan Lundh and Niklas Rahm. That addition has brought calm and all the players have been able to concentrate on what to do on the ice and play our game the way we want to play it. I think that's also the main reason that I've played well so far too."
You, Ted Brithen and Par Arlbrant have played together most games. What do you think about your chemistry?
"Brithen had problems with injuries last season. This year, he's really stepped up and played as well as we know he can do when he's on top. He had a really good season in 2014-15 and is on his way to that form again.
"Arlbrant is a really good player with lots of skill. He can make the passes that give me opportunities. I think our line works very well on the ice and we suit each other's playing styles."
Special teams, especially the power play, have worked great so far. Your thoughts on that?
"I don't think we've practiced the power play so much – it's more that we've found a unit that thinks alike. We've got our gameplan ready and all the players on the ice know what they have to do. But our opponents in the CHL haven't put our special teams to much of a test yet. I think it will be harder against Lukko Rauma."
Yes, Lukko Rauma. What do you think about that team?
"I think it will be two great games. Finnish teams are always hard to play against – they play physical and with a lot of speed. They play an offensive style of hockey, almost an NHL-like style of play, but if we play as we've done so far in the tournament, we've got a great chance to advance to the next round."
Next season, the CHL going to change a little. What do you think about that?
"I think it's great and going to be a better tournament with fewer but more skilled teams. I hope after my years in the KHL that a few of those teams want to play CHL hockey in the future too. That way, the fans will see the best players in Europe and that would be exciting.
"I personally think that the KHL has the most skilled players, but as a league, we in the SHL aren't far away. I think there's more speed in the SHL and I know many players who found it hard to adjust to that hockey after being a few seasons in Russia."
What do you think of the new players on the team this season?
"I think our new players are a perfect addition to the team. They play exactly the way they were scouted to do. Andreas Borgman is a very aggressive player with great skating. Dylan Reese is contributing both on D and offensively. I'm impressed with our new goalie Linus Soderstrom too – it will be exiting to see him make his debut in the SHL. We've got two really calm and skilled keepers this year."
First Leg
HV71 Jonkoping got the early lead they needed against Lukko Rauma, then protected it the rest of the way so that they'll take a two-goal lead into next week's game in Rauma. It was a fast start for HV71 on home ice, with Dylan Reese's long shot through traffic finding the back of the net after just 38 seconds of play. Less than five minutes later it was 2-0, as Martin Thornberg picked up his CHL-leading 9th point, feeding Ted Brithen in front, who beat Kaapo Kahkonen on the backhand.
“I think I played a pretty good game, like the rest of the team. I tried to play simple and I got a chance and managed to get a goal,” Brithen said. “We came out great and scored two quick goals and played the game pretty well I think.”
That was all the scoring in the game, and Lukko didn't get many chances to respond, particularly in the first 40 minutes, when they had only seven shots in total on Linus Soderstrom. Thornberg almost made it 3-0 in the second period when his shot hit the goalpost.
“It was a tight game but we weren't ready in the beginning,” said Lukko defenceman Janne Niskala. “HV71 came out strong and we were two goals down after five minutes, so that was a real bad start for us. But I think we managed to play better after that. But when you don't score you can't win the game.”
Lukko came with a bit more of a push in the third period, with 10 shots, but still weren't able to beat Soderstrom, who picked up the shutout. Kahkonen stopped 19 for Lukko. Tempers flared late in the game, setting the stage for the second game next week. The two teams now move to Finland, where Lukko will need to get their offence going if they hope to go as far as they did in the last two CHL seasons.
“We have to get our offensive game going,” Niskala added. “We spent too much time in our own zone. Just get the momentum going and don't take too many penalties. We are confident that we can turn this series around – it's only two goals. Last year we were down too and managed to turn it around.”
Second Leg
After being shut out in the first round, and trailing by two on aggregate, Lukko Rauma’s offence had to find a way to break the ice and put some goals on the board. Something similar must have been the coaching staff’s order, in the first two minutes of play there were four shots on the visitor’s goal.
Consequently the home fans didn’t have to wait too long for their team's first goal, which arrived at 3:33 after a brilliant backhand centring pass from Joose Antonen. The puck found Peter Tiivola wide open who shot the puck to the top right corner. After giving up a goal so fast, HV71 were ready to answer. Less then four minutes later, following Adam Almquist’s shot on goal, Mattias Tedenby swept in the rebound to tie the game and restore the two-goal aggregate lead.
“We had pretty good opportunity to win this one,” Tiivola said. “We scored three but gave up too many goals. Our defence could had been more solid tonight but losing with a shutout in Sweden was the main reason for our elimination. We created some good chances but the opponent were very unforgiving on their scoring opportunities.”
It took the home team only 1:36 to grab the lead again. Lukko’s top scorer Aaron Gagnon skated into the opponent’s zone, passed two defenders, then lifted the puck into the net on a brilliant individual effort. But not even this beauty was enough to keep Lukko within one for long. Less then five minutes before the end of the first period HV71 took advantage of a power play. Dylan Reese passed to Ted Brithen at the blue line, who launched a rocket, and hammered the puck into the top right corner. It was an extremely intense period, but after four goals and 20 minutes of play the teams were back at square one with HV71 in front by two on aggregate.
The game didn’t change much in the second period, as the home team tried to have as much puck possession as possible in order to be able to cut into the HV71 lead once more. They succeeded at 25:39 when Jesse Virtanen’s goal put his team back within one again.
“We had a little bit of trouble in the first few shifts because the rink is smaller here and Lukko pressured us well,” said veteran HV71 winger Teemu Laine. “During the game we got the hang of it and found a way to win.”
Just past the game's midpoint, HV71 showed why they came to the Kivikylan Areena. With 12:26 played in the second period, Christofer Torngren took advantage of a badly timed line change and went on to score the goal that tied the game up, and restored the two-goal difference on aggregate.
Then four minutes later, HV71 broke the pattern of the game, and took the lead for the first time. After a pass from Niklas Hansson, Erik Andersson went in on a breakaway and showed no mercy – he shot the puck into the net after tricking Kaapo Kahkonen out of position. Lukko were able to create a few chances after this shock, but they couldn’t decrease the three-goal difference on aggregate until the end of the second period.
The final period started with a goaltending change on the home team’s side, as Antti Karjalainen came in to replace Kahkonen. HV71 made sure that the new guy wouldn’t get bored, though, and put several shots on goal. Lukko didn’t seem to be able to bounce back completely from the two goals they gave up in the second period, in the vast majority of the time the puck was in the home team’s zone.
As time went by Lukko started to fight desperately to get closer to their opponent, but the just simply couldn’t create quality chances. After HV71 succesfully kept the puck away from their cage, at 58:25 Lukko pulled their goalie to have the man-advantage, but it seemed to be too little, too late. HV71 stood against the attacks, and the three goals the home team needed didn’t arrive.
Despite the three goals that Lukko scored in the first two periods they were unable to defeat HV71, which means that the Swedish team advances to the next round with a 6-3 win on aggregate.
“This game we weren't ready from the start, but in the second half we played really well – the way we want to play,” said HV71 coach Johan Lindbom. “We want to win the whole CHL, so we're looking forward to the next round.”
Martin Thornberg is back home. Born in Jonkoping, he was raised in the HV71 system and turned pro with his hometown club at the age of 19. He made an immidiate impact, scoring a point per game in the playoffs as HV71 won the Swedish league title in 2004.
Over the next seven years, the gifted goal-scoring winger but up big numbers and helped HV71 to two more titles and a berth in the original Champions Hockey League in 2008-09. In 2011 he went abroad, and played four seasons in the KHL with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Lev Prague and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Last season he returned home and had a decent season, helping HV71 reach the CHL Round of 16 with four points in eight games. In the SHL, he had 39 points in 55 regular season and playoff games.
This season he's off to a superb start, starting with four goals and four assists in four CHL group-stage games, helping HV71 top Group P. That makes him the Cramo Top Scorer for the whole CHL, and he's continued his hot hand into the start of the SHL regular season, with two goals in the first two games.
With the CHL Round of 32 on the horizon, he spoke about his season so far.
Martin, would you say the start for you and the team has been better this season, if you compare to last year?
"Yes, it feels better than it did last year. And a big reason for this is that our pre-season has been less chaotic for the club, so we've had lots of time to build up our squad. Another reason is that we've added two great assistant coaches in Stephan Lundh and Niklas Rahm. That addition has brought calm and all the players have been able to concentrate on what to do on the ice and play our game the way we want to play it. I think that's also the main reason that I've played well so far too."
You, Ted Brithen and Par Arlbrant have played together most games. What do you think about your chemistry?
"Brithen had problems with injuries last season. This year, he's really stepped up and played as well as we know he can do when he's on top. He had a really good season in 2014-15 and is on his way to that form again.
"Arlbrant is a really good player with lots of skill. He can make the passes that give me opportunities. I think our line works very well on the ice and we suit each other's playing styles."
Special teams, especially the power play, have worked great so far. Your thoughts on that?
"I don't think we've practiced the power play so much – it's more that we've found a unit that thinks alike. We've got our gameplan ready and all the players on the ice know what they have to do. But our opponents in the CHL haven't put our special teams to much of a test yet. I think it will be harder against Lukko Rauma."
Yes, Lukko Rauma. What do you think about that team?
"I think it will be two great games. Finnish teams are always hard to play against – they play physical and with a lot of speed. They play an offensive style of hockey, almost an NHL-like style of play, but if we play as we've done so far in the tournament, we've got a great chance to advance to the next round."
Next season, the CHL going to change a little. What do you think about that?
"I think it's great and going to be a better tournament with fewer but more skilled teams. I hope after my years in the KHL that a few of those teams want to play CHL hockey in the future too. That way, the fans will see the best players in Europe and that would be exciting.
"I personally think that the KHL has the most skilled players, but as a league, we in the SHL aren't far away. I think there's more speed in the SHL and I know many players who found it hard to adjust to that hockey after being a few seasons in Russia."
What do you think of the new players on the team this season?
"I think our new players are a perfect addition to the team. They play exactly the way they were scouted to do. Andreas Borgman is a very aggressive player with great skating. Dylan Reese is contributing both on D and offensively. I'm impressed with our new goalie Linus Soderstrom too – it will be exiting to see him make his debut in the SHL. We've got two really calm and skilled keepers this year."
First Leg
HV71 Jonkoping got the early lead they needed against Lukko Rauma, then protected it the rest of the way so that they'll take a two-goal lead into next week's game in Rauma. It was a fast start for HV71 on home ice, with Dylan Reese's long shot through traffic finding the back of the net after just 38 seconds of play. Less than five minutes later it was 2-0, as Martin Thornberg picked up his CHL-leading 9th point, feeding Ted Brithen in front, who beat Kaapo Kahkonen on the backhand.
“I think I played a pretty good game, like the rest of the team. I tried to play simple and I got a chance and managed to get a goal,” Brithen said. “We came out great and scored two quick goals and played the game pretty well I think.”
That was all the scoring in the game, and Lukko didn't get many chances to respond, particularly in the first 40 minutes, when they had only seven shots in total on Linus Soderstrom. Thornberg almost made it 3-0 in the second period when his shot hit the goalpost.
“It was a tight game but we weren't ready in the beginning,” said Lukko defenceman Janne Niskala. “HV71 came out strong and we were two goals down after five minutes, so that was a real bad start for us. But I think we managed to play better after that. But when you don't score you can't win the game.”
Lukko came with a bit more of a push in the third period, with 10 shots, but still weren't able to beat Soderstrom, who picked up the shutout. Kahkonen stopped 19 for Lukko. Tempers flared late in the game, setting the stage for the second game next week. The two teams now move to Finland, where Lukko will need to get their offence going if they hope to go as far as they did in the last two CHL seasons.
“We have to get our offensive game going,” Niskala added. “We spent too much time in our own zone. Just get the momentum going and don't take too many penalties. We are confident that we can turn this series around – it's only two goals. Last year we were down too and managed to turn it around.”
Second Leg
After being shut out in the first round, and trailing by two on aggregate, Lukko Rauma’s offence had to find a way to break the ice and put some goals on the board. Something similar must have been the coaching staff’s order, in the first two minutes of play there were four shots on the visitor’s goal.
Consequently the home fans didn’t have to wait too long for their team's first goal, which arrived at 3:33 after a brilliant backhand centring pass from Joose Antonen. The puck found Peter Tiivola wide open who shot the puck to the top right corner. After giving up a goal so fast, HV71 were ready to answer. Less then four minutes later, following Adam Almquist’s shot on goal, Mattias Tedenby swept in the rebound to tie the game and restore the two-goal aggregate lead.
“We had pretty good opportunity to win this one,” Tiivola said. “We scored three but gave up too many goals. Our defence could had been more solid tonight but losing with a shutout in Sweden was the main reason for our elimination. We created some good chances but the opponent were very unforgiving on their scoring opportunities.”
It took the home team only 1:36 to grab the lead again. Lukko’s top scorer Aaron Gagnon skated into the opponent’s zone, passed two defenders, then lifted the puck into the net on a brilliant individual effort. But not even this beauty was enough to keep Lukko within one for long. Less then five minutes before the end of the first period HV71 took advantage of a power play. Dylan Reese passed to Ted Brithen at the blue line, who launched a rocket, and hammered the puck into the top right corner. It was an extremely intense period, but after four goals and 20 minutes of play the teams were back at square one with HV71 in front by two on aggregate.
The game didn’t change much in the second period, as the home team tried to have as much puck possession as possible in order to be able to cut into the HV71 lead once more. They succeeded at 25:39 when Jesse Virtanen’s goal put his team back within one again.
“We had a little bit of trouble in the first few shifts because the rink is smaller here and Lukko pressured us well,” said veteran HV71 winger Teemu Laine. “During the game we got the hang of it and found a way to win.”
Just past the game's midpoint, HV71 showed why they came to the Kivikylan Areena. With 12:26 played in the second period, Christofer Torngren took advantage of a badly timed line change and went on to score the goal that tied the game up, and restored the two-goal difference on aggregate.
Then four minutes later, HV71 broke the pattern of the game, and took the lead for the first time. After a pass from Niklas Hansson, Erik Andersson went in on a breakaway and showed no mercy – he shot the puck into the net after tricking Kaapo Kahkonen out of position. Lukko were able to create a few chances after this shock, but they couldn’t decrease the three-goal difference on aggregate until the end of the second period.
The final period started with a goaltending change on the home team’s side, as Antti Karjalainen came in to replace Kahkonen. HV71 made sure that the new guy wouldn’t get bored, though, and put several shots on goal. Lukko didn’t seem to be able to bounce back completely from the two goals they gave up in the second period, in the vast majority of the time the puck was in the home team’s zone.
As time went by Lukko started to fight desperately to get closer to their opponent, but the just simply couldn’t create quality chances. After HV71 succesfully kept the puck away from their cage, at 58:25 Lukko pulled their goalie to have the man-advantage, but it seemed to be too little, too late. HV71 stood against the attacks, and the three goals the home team needed didn’t arrive.
Despite the three goals that Lukko scored in the first two periods they were unable to defeat HV71, which means that the Swedish team advances to the next round with a 6-3 win on aggregate.
“This game we weren't ready from the start, but in the second half we played really well – the way we want to play,” said HV71 coach Johan Lindbom. “We want to win the whole CHL, so we're looking forward to the next round.”
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