2017–18 Champions Hockey League

The 2017–18 Champions Hockey League was 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.

2017–18 Champions Hockey League
Tournament details
Dates24 August 2017 – 6 February 2018
Teams32
Final positions
Champions Finland JYP (1st title)
Runner-up Sweden Växjö Lakers
Tournament statistics
Games played125
Goals scored735 (5.88 per game)
Attendance421,134 (3,369 per match)
Scoring leader(s)Sweden Fredrik Pettersson
(16 points)
MVPCzech Republic Šimon Hrubec

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, the United Kingdom 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 took precedence. When comparing head-to-head results, the following criteria was 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 was 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 was 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 was decided 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 (SO) 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 played two games and the aggregate score was decided the team which advances. As a rule, the first leg was hosted by the team who had inferior record in the tournament so far and the second leg was played on the home ice of the other team. If aggregate score is tied, a sudden death overtime followed. If the overtime is scoreless, the team who wins the game winning shot competition advances.[5]

The final was played on the home ice of team who had better record in the tournament on February 6, 2018.

Bracket

The eight group winners and the eight 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 could not 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
                  
1 Finland JYP 3 2 5
16 Finland Tappara 1 3 4
Finland JYP 3 5 8
Czech Republic Kometa Brno 3 3 6
8 Czech Republic Kometa Brno 4 5 9
9 Switzerland EV Zug 3 2 5
Finland JYP (SO) 4 3 7
Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 2 4 6
5 Sweden Brynäs IF 3 2 5
12 Germany Adler Mannheim 2 1 3
Sweden Brynäs IF 1 3 4
Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 3 5 8
4 Czech Republic Oceláři Třinec 2 2 4
13 Sweden Malmö Redhawks 1 1 2
Finland JYP 2
Sweden Växjö Lakers 0
6 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 2 3 5
11 Sweden Växjö Lakers 1 5 6
Sweden Växjö Lakers 2 4 6
Switzerland SC Bern 3 2 5
3 Switzerland SC Bern 2 5 7
14 Germany Red Bull München 3 2 5
Sweden Växjö Lakers 1 6 7
Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec 1 1 2
7 Switzerland ZSC Lions 3 3 6
10 United Kingdom Nottingham Panthers 1 0 1
Switzerland ZSC Lions 1 0 1
Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec (SO) 0 2 2
2 Czech Republic Bílí Tygři Liberec (OT) 2 6 8
15 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.Tooltip Aggregate score 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.Tooltip Aggregate score 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.Tooltip Aggregate score 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
Game reference
Viktor FasthGoaliesJuho OlkinuoraReferees:
Austria Mark Lemelin
Germany Daniel Piechaczek
Linesmen:
Germany Lukas Kohlmüller
Austria Elias Seewald
0–134:32 – Nättinen (Kalteva) (PP)
0–259:40 – Kolehmainen (SH, ENG)
6 minPenalties8 min
31Shots18

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

References

  1. "New CHL format for 2017–18! 32 teams & on-ice qualification only". championshockeyleague.net. 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  2. "Nottingham Panthers confirmed for 2017-18". championshockeyleague.net. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  3. "Wildcard spots confirmed for Poland and Great Britain". championshockeyleague.net. 14 March 2017. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  4. "Number of teams for founding leagues in 2017-18 confirmed". championshockeyleague.net. 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  5. "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.
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