Read below for information on the eighth-final series between Frolunda Gothenburg and HC Litvinov. Frolunda won 7–2 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals.

Game 2

Litvinov carried a slim 1-goal aggregate lead into this game and maintained it for 27 minutes, but they could only hold off the dangerous Frolunda offence for so long. The Indians scored 1 goal in the first 87 minutes of this series, but 6 in the last 33 with 3 goals coming on the power play. Spencer Abbott got the ball rolling a man up and added a second later, Sebastian Stalberg scored on a penalty shot, and Lars Johansson stopped all 14 shots he faced for the shutout to put last year's finalists through to the next round. 

“It feels really great right now, obviously. We really wanted to advance to the next round so we were really prepared and pumped for this game. Great to see that we can play as good as we did today!” goalie Johansson said afterward. “Initially the game looked pretty much like the first game in the Czech Republic, where they played really tight, solid and didn't give us any space. But I think we played a lot quicker today with a lot of speed, especially after our first goal, where we skated much quicker. That forced them to take a lot of penalties in the end, when they didn't have the energy to keep up with us.”

GAME HIGHLIGHTS | LIVE BLOG & STATS

Game 1

For the second-straight round, Frolunda have dug themselves a hole in the first leg of a series, although this time only by 1 goal. Litvinov were a goal up after 40 minutes, but the teams traded power-play markers early in the second – first Andreas Johnson tied it for Frolunda, then four minutes later Robin Hanzl scored the game-winning goal to put his team up by one goal heading to Gothenburg for game two.

“For me it was a great experience today, I am grateful," said Litvinov goalie Michael Petrasek, who stopped 20 of 21 shots. On his path this season, which started in the Czech second division, he added, "I start the season in Most and now suddenly against this team . . . I've allowed goals against Prostejov, Benatky nad Jizerou, and now only one against Frolunda. And more importantly we won, so I'm happy.”

GAME HIGHLIGHTS | LIVE BLOG & STATS

Preview

Both Frolunda Gothenburg and HC Litvinov won all three of their group-stage games – Frolunda recorded a perfect 12 points in Group N, while Litvinov took 11 in Group F by needing overtime to win one game – and then nearly got bounced in the Round of 32, each needing overtime to win. The next round doesn't get easier for either team. After overcoming a two-goal deficit on aggregate to beat German runners-up Ingolstadt, Frolunda now face the Czech champions. As for Litvinov, they managed to survive a scare against the dangerous but inconsistent Vienna Capitals and now face the finalists from the CHL and SHL – and a team that would be considered a top favourite in both competitions this year. Both of these teams are deep in offensive talent, but Frolunda is surely deeper. In addition to their offence, Litvinov is going to need to play a solid and disciplined team game to win this one, which means staying out of the penalty box and keeping the vaunted Frolunda power play off the ice.

Closer look: Frolunda Gothenburg

(5-0-0-1, 15 points, 26:10)

One of only four teams to make it through the CHL group stage with a 100 percent record, Frolunda Gothenburg are at the top of their game and are a team to be feared. While they stumbled a bit in the Round of 32 by blowing an early 2–0 lead and losing 4–2 in Ingolstadt, they bounced back on home ice to tie the aggregate in dramatic fashion on a late goal by Lukas Bengtsson, then won it on an amazing highlight-reel goal by Ryan Lasch in overtime. A key to Frolunda's great offence is their power play, which has struck a CHL-leading 14 times so far. Blessed with a wealth of attacking talent, Frolunda have three players in the top 10 CHL point scorers in Ryan Lasch, Artturi Lehkonen and Henrik Tommernes. Domestically they have been just as dominant, losing only once in their first 14 games while out-scoring SHL opponents 61–26 to give themselves a comfortable lead atop the standings.  

Ryan

Lasch

4+5, +3

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: When Frolunda lost CHL MVP centre Mathis Olimb in the off-season, they needed to replace the offence he produced and former TPS winger Ryan Lasch has done just that. The 28-year-old American leads the team in scoring in both the SHL and CHL, and made the difference in Frolunda's Round of 32 victory over Ingolstadt, scoring the overtime-winner on a spectacular indivudual effort. But on a team full of dangerous scorers, other players to watch out for are Swede Andreas Johnson, Canadian Spencer Abbott, and Finn Artturi Lehkonen.

 

Henrik

Tommernes

3+5, +4

 

Top Defenceman: After failing getting a spot in Vancouver Canucks for two seasons, 25-year-old Henrik Tommernes has returned to the club where he started his professional career and spent five seasons before he went to North America. He’s a great all-round d-man with a great offensive mind. He scored a hat-trick (+1 assist) in the 9–1 win against the Sheffield Steelers and was the club's top scorer in the group stage with 8 points. He didn't record any points in the two games vs Ingolstadt, but continued to play solidly in his own end. 

 

Lars

Johansson

93.33 %

 

Top Goaltender: 28-year-old Lars Johansson is starting his third season in Frolunda Gothenburg and has really gotten to prove that he deserves starting goalie job. The two previous seasons he and Linus Fernstrom pretty much split the job, alternating almost every game, but Johansson managed to out-compete Fernstrom in the playoffs and became the starter. This season he’s battling with former U20 World Champion (2012) and Senior World Champion (2013) Johan Gustafsson, who's back in Sweden after two seasons in North America. Johansson has started four CHL games so far and has won all four with a 93.33 save percentage and 1.22 goals-against average. He will most likely start at least one of the games, if not both, against Litvinov.

Click here for team statistics.

 

 

Closer look: HC Litvinov

(4-1-1-0, 15 points, 20:12)

Litvinov qualified for this year's CHL as Czech Extraliga champions, and have proven that was no fluke by topping Group F with a near-perfect record. They only dropped one point in an overtime win at home to Espoo in the very last game, after they had already secured top spot anyway. They then played two tight games against the Vienna Capitals in the Round of 32 – winning by one goal in the Austrian capital, then losing the regulation game on home ice on a late goal before winning the aggregate score in overtime, courtesy a Frantisek Lukes slapper. Lukes is one of the snipers on this team that helped them win the Czech title last year, but the team is off to a slow start this year, as after 15 games they sit in 11^th place out of 14 Extraliga teams – on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in. They know they have the talent to get their season back on track, and a strong showing against one of Europe's top clubs would go a long way in giving the team a needed confidence boost.  

Michal

Travnicek

2+5, +3

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: 35-year-old forward Michal Travnicek has flown in admirable fashion into his incredible 17th season as a Litvinov player, and fourth as the team's captain. He's managed to pick up 7 points so far  –  5 of them in the group-stage games against Grenoble. His 7 points ties him with Viktor Hubl for the team lead – Hubl is also scoring at a point-per-game pace in the Extraliga and leads the league in goals with 12 in 15 games. 

 

Karel

Kubat

0+0, +3

 

Top Defenceman: Karel Kubat doesn't have any CHL points so far, but that's not the reason he's on the ice, and he is on the ice a lot. Another long-time Litvinov resident, Karel Kubat has a lot of experience in his 27 years and a +3 in his plus/minus box speaks for itself. He can contribute offensively too, with 5 points in 15 Extraliga games to lead club defencemen. He can play with emotion as well, being the most penalized player of his team with 10 penalty minutes in the CHL.

 

Jaroslav

Janus

96.84 %

 

Top Goaltender: Litvinov suffered a huge loss with Pavel Francouz's departure to the KHL but they found a solid replacement in Jaroslav Janus. The Slovak goalie yearns to show off after experiencing his worst season last year. And he has started off rather well – so far he won all three games he's played in, allowing only three goals in total. He's clearly the team's starting goalie, being among one of the busiest goalies in the Czech Extraliga.

 

Click here for team statistics.