2018–19 Champions Hockey League
The 2018–19 Champions Hockey League was the fifth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. The tournament was competed by 32 teams, and qualification was on sporting merits only. The six founding leagues were represented by between three and five teams (based on a four-year league ranking), while seven "challenge leagues" were represented by one team each. One place was awarded to the Continental Cup champion. Unlike in the first three editions, founding teams did not automatically qualify.[4] The group stages began on 30 August 2018, and ended on 17 October 2018.[5] The season had an average attendance of 3,401 per game, one percent increase from the previous season.[6]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 30 August 2018 – 5 February 2019 |
| Teams | 32 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Frölunda HC[1] (3rd title) |
Runner-up  |  Red Bull München |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 125 |
| Goals scored | 738 (5.9 per game) |
| Attendance | 425,050 (3,400 per match) |
| Scoring leader(s) |  Ryan Lasch[2](22 points) |
| MVP | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Trevor Parkes[3] |
Swedish team Frölunda HC won their third Champions Hockey League title, defeating Red Bull München, the first German team to reach the final, 3–1 at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.[1]
Team allocation
A total of 32 teams from different European first-tier leagues participated in the 2018–19 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.
The qualification for these places was set out in the rules as follows:[7]
- National league champion (play-off winners)
- Regular season winners
- Regular season runner-up
- Losing play-off finalist
- Higher regular season ranked losing semi-finalist
- Lower regular season ranked losing semi-finalist
- Third placed team in regular season
- Fourth placed team in regular season
- Fifth placed team in regular season.
Teams
Group stage
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 played home and away against every other team for a total of 6 games. The best 2 teams qualified to the round of 16.[8]
Pots
As the reigning CHL champions, JYP were 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. 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 Yunost Minsk, the champion of 2017–18 IIHF Continental Cup.[9]
Group stage tie-breaking criteria
If two teams were tied in points after the group stage was finished, the teams precedence was decided by head-to-head games. If teams were 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 were applied:[8]
- more points in games against the other tied team
- better goal difference in games against the other tied team
- more goals scored against the other tied team
- more goals scored in a single game against the other tied team
- overtime wins against the other tied team
- more goals scored in the two game winning shot competitions
- higher position in the 2017–18 CHL club ranking
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | FHC | ZSC | VIC | ABP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frölunda HC |
6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 11 | +11 | 13[lower-alpha 1] | Advance to Playoffs | — | 4–2 | 1–4 | 6–0 | |
| 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} ZSC Lions |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 18 | +8 | 13[lower-alpha 1] | 3–2 (SO) | — | 7–4 | 6–5 (OT) | ||
| 3 |  Vienna Capitals |
6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 7 | 1–4 | 2–6 | — | 2–3 (OT) | ||
| 4 |  Aalborg Pirates |
6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 27 | −16 | 3 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–6 | — |
- Head-to-head points: Frölunda HC 4, ZSC Lions 2.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAL | RBM | TPS | YUN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malmö Redhawks |
6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 12[lower-alpha 1] | Advance to Playoffs | — | 6–1 | 8–4 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Red Bull München |
6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 12[lower-alpha 1] | 3–2 | — | 5–1 | 4–3 | ||
| 3 |  TPS |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 6[lower-alpha 2] | 1–2 | 5–3 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 |  Yunost Minsk |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 6[lower-alpha 2] | 6–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | — |
- Head-to-head goal difference: Malmö Redhawks +4, Red Bull München –4.
- Head-to-head goal difference: TPS +1, Yunost Minsk –1.
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SKE | HCB | HIFK | GKS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skellefteå AIK |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 13 | +14 | 14 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 2–1 | 3–4 (OT) | 6–2 | |
| 2 |  HC Bolzano |
6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 10 | 4–3 (SO) | — | 4–1 | 6–4 | ||
| 3 | HIFK |
6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 9 | 1–5 | 1–2 (SO) | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 |  GKS Tychy |
6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 3 | 1–8 | 5–3 | 3–5 | — |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | EVZ | KOM | BER | NEM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EV Zug |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 16 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–3 (OT) | |
| 2 |  Kometa Brno |
6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 9 | 2–3 | — | 4–3 | 6–2 | ||
| 3 | Eisbären Berlin |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 6 | 3–5 | 2–3 | — | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Neman Grodno |
6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 5 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–4 | — |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TAP | STO | DIF | TRI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tappara |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 12 | +17 | 15 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 6–1 | 5–1 | 3–2 (OT) | |
| 2 |  Storhamar |
6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 9 | 3–2 (SO) | — | 2–3 (OT) | 6–2 | ||
| 3 | Djurgårdens IF |
6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 8 | 3–5 | 5–2 | — | 3–4 | ||
| 4 | Oceláři Třinec |
6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 29 | −16 | 4 | 2–8 | 2–3 | 1–6 | — |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KAR | DRA | NIT | MHK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kärpät |
6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 14 | +13 | 14 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 4–0 | 9–3 | 3–2 | |
| 2 |  Dragons de Rouen |
6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2–4 | — | 4–2 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers |
6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 25 | −8 | 8 | 4–3 | 2–5 | — | 4–3 (OT) | ||
| 4 | Mountfield HK |
6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 17 | −5 | 5 | 3–4 (SO) | 3–2 | 1–2 | — |
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RBS | SCB | VLH | CAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull Salzburg |
6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 13[lower-alpha 1] | Advance to Playoffs | — | 2–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | |
| 2 | SC Bern |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 13[lower-alpha 1] | 2–1 (SO) | — | 4–3 | 3–2 | ||
| 3 | Växjö Lakers |
6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 8 | 5–2 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 |  Cardiff Devils |
6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 24 | −10 | 2 | 2–5 | 2–3 (OT) | 5–6 (OT) | — |
- Head-to-head points: Red Bull Salzburg 4, SC Bern 2.
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HCP | LUG | JYP | BAB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HC Plzeň |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 17 | Advance to Playoffs | — | 3–2 | 4–2 | 6–4 | |
| 2 | HC Lugano |
6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 9 | 2–3 | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | ||
| 3 | JYP |
6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 6 | 2–6 | 0–1 | — | 6–0 | ||
| 4 |  HC '05 Banská Bystrica |
6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 27 | −14 | 4 | 2–3 (OT) | 5–2 | 1–6 | — |
Playoffs
Qualified teams
| Group | Winners (seed) | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| A | Frölunda HC (6) |
ZSC Lions |
| B | Malmö Redhawks (8) |
Red Bull München |
| C | Skellefteå AIK (4) |
HC Bolzano |
| D | EV Zug (2) |
Kometa Brno |
| E | Tappara (3) |
Storhamar |
| F | Kärpät (5) |
Dragons de Rouen |
| G | Red Bull Salzburg (7) |
SC Bern |
| H | HC Plzeň (1) |
HC Lugano |
Format
In each round except the final, the teams played two games and the aggregate score decided the team which advanced. As a rule, the first leg was hosted by the team who had the inferior record in the tournament to that point and the second leg was played on the home ice of the other team. If aggregate score was tied, a sudden death overtime followed. If the overtime is scoreless, the team who wins the game winning shot competition advanced.[8]
The final was played on the home ice of the team who had the better record in the tournament on 5 February 2019.
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.[8] The draw took place in Helsinki, Finland on 19 October 2018.[10]
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Red Bull München
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | EV Zug
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Bull München (OT)
| 2 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malmö Redhawks
| 1 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | SC Bern
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Malmö Redhawks
| 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Bull München
| 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Bull Salzburg
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | ZSC Lions
| 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Kärpät
| 4 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Kärpät
| 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Bull Salzburg
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Dragons de Rouen
| 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Red Bull Salzburg
| 3 | 5 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Red Bull München
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frölunda HC
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Kometa Brno
| 5 | 5 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Tappara
| 1 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Kometa Brno
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frölunda HC
| 4 | 6 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | HC Lugano
| 1 | 4 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Frölunda HC
| 1 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Frölunda HC
| 6 | 3 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| HC Plzeň
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Storhamar
| 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Skellefteå AIK
| 4 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Skellefteå AIK
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| HC Plzeň (SO)
| 3 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | HC Bolzano
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | HC Plzeň
| 6 | 6 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Note:
- 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. The Malmö Redhawks, however, ended up playing their first leg at home due to their arena being reserved on 20 November.
- The order of the legs (which team starts at home) in the future rounds may be changed as the team with the best record should have the second game at home.
Final
| 5 February 2019 19:00 (UTC+1) | Frölunda HC | 3–1 (1–0, 2–0, 0–1) | Red Bull München | Scandinavium, Gothenburg Attendance: 12,044 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johan Gustafsson | Goalies | Danny aus den Birken | Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Mark Lemelin Linesmen: Hannu Sormunen Balazs Kovacs | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| 14 min | Penalties | 24 min | ||||||||||||
| 31 | Shots | 36 | ||||||||||||
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points.[11]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/– | GWG | PPG | SHG | SOG | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Lasch |
Frölunda HC |
13 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 6 | +4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 19.23% |
| Chay Genoway |
Frölunda HC |
13 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 35 | +1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 16.67% |
| John Mitchell |
Red Bull München |
11 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 24 | +6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 7.69% |
| Nicklas Lasu |
Kärpät |
9 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 2 | +4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 32.00% |
| Milan Gulaš |
HC Plzeň |
10 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 8 | +11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 21.05% |
| Trevor Parkes |
Red Bull München |
9 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 18 | +5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 31.03% |
| Jarkko Malinen |
Tappara |
7 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 2 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 18.18% |
| Oscar Möller |
Skellefteå AIK |
10 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 | +6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 14.58% |
| David Stach |
HC Plzeň |
10 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 | –2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 16.67% |
| Peter Schneider |
Vienna Capitals |
6 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 25.93% |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in save percentage, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes.[12]
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SV | GA | SV% | GAA | SO | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristopher Nihlstorp |
Malmö Redhawks |
4 | 2 | 2 | 108 | 7 | 93.91% | 1.75 | 0 | 240 |
| Steve Michalek |
Red Bull Salzburg |
10 | 4 | 3 | 264 | 19 | 93.29% | 1.90 | 0 | 600 |
 Matija Pintarič |
Dragons de Rouen |
8 | 3 | 4 | 290 | 21 | 93.25% | 2.65 | 1 | 475 |
| Johan Mattsson |
Frölunda HC |
6 | 3 | 2 | 122 | 9 | 93.13% | 1.69 | 0 | 319 |
| Leonardo Genoni |
SC Bern |
8 | 5 | 3 | 203 | 15 | 93.12% | 1.86 | 1 | 483 |
References
- Hampson, Oliver (5 February 2019). ""Tre kronor" for Frölunda after beating Munich in final". Champions Hockey League. Champions Hockey League (CHL) AG. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- Fisher, Luke (5 February 2019). "Lasch finishes season as LGT Top Scorer". Champions Hockey League. Champions Hockey League (CHL) AG. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- O'Brien, Derek (5 February 2019). "Parkes wins Betsson MVP Trophy". Champions Hockey League. Champions Hockey League (CHL) AG. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- "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 20 January 2018.
- Fisher, Luke (25 May 2018). "Schedule for 2018/19 released". www.championshockeyleague.com. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- "Champions Hockey League 2018/19 attendance stats". hockey.sigmagfx.com. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- "Number of teams for founding leagues in 2017-18 confirmed". championshockeyleague.net. 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- "CHL sport regulations 2018/19" (PDF). championshockeyleague.net. Champions Hockey League.
- "Seedings for 2018/19 draw revealed". championshockeyleague.net. Champions Hockey League. 4 May 2018.
- "Playoff draw on Friday 19 October". championshockeyleague.com. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- "Statistics 2018/19: Players". Champions Hockey League. Champions Hockey League (CHL) AG. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- "Statistics 2018/19: Goalkeepers". Champions Hockey League. Champions Hockey League (CHL) AG. Retrieved 5 February 2019.