After both winning on Game Day 5, Red Bull Salzburg can now win Group I with one point on Game Day 6 and JYP Jyvaskyla are guaranteed to advance as well if they get three. HV71 Jonkoping still have a distant chance, while the Kloten Flyers still search for their first win.
by Derek O'Brien, with contribution from Jere Korkalainen
In Group I there are two teams that can control their own destiny and advance to the next round with wins, while a third team still has a very remote chance of advancing. This follows Game Day 5 action, where both Red Bull Salzburg and JYP Jyvaskyla won to set themselves up well heading into the last day of action.
Salzburg entered play on 23 September with a one-point lead on JYP and three points up on HV71 Jonkoping. In one of the day's early games, JYP temporarily moved into first place, one point ahead of Salzburg, with a 4–3 shootout victory over HV71. JYP scored twice in the first period, HV71 twice in the second, and the teams traded goals in the third. Jani Tuppurainen led JYP's offence with three points and Cramo Top Scorer Eric Perrin scored the shootout winner. Captain Ted Brithen scored twice for HV71, whose playoff hopes are now very remote.
"We knew we are going to face a really good team," JYP head coach Marko Virtanen said afterward. On the fact that his team was often shorthanded and all three HV71 goals were scored on the power play, he said, "We didn't take stupid penalties, they made us take penalties. Even though they played really good on the power play, I am not happy with our penalty killing."
A short time after losing their lead atop the group, Salzburg went into Kloten and won 2–0 to re-claim the group lead. Defenceman Matthias Trattnig assisted on both goals, one of which was an empty-netter. Luca Gracnar made 31 saves for the shutout, while Jonas Muller stopped 32 of 33 for the Flyers.
Game Day 6 features the same two match-ups, and Salzburg need only a point on home ice against Kloten to win the group. JYP, meanwhile, can secure a place among the "sweet 16" with three points, as even if Salzburg gains the necessary point, JYP would be guaranteed a wild-card spot with 13 points. A win in regulation time for HV71 would give them second place, as they would win the tie-breaker with JYP, but chances of getting a wild-card spot with 10 points are remote.
Group I standings
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF:GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull Salzburg | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16:7 | +9 | 12 |
| JYP Jyvaskyla | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12:11 | +1 | 10 |
| HV71 Jonkoping | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15:14 | +1 | 7 |
| Kloten Flyers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4:15 | -11 | 1 |
Schedule and results
| Date | Time | Group | Home | Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22.08.2014 | 18:30 | Group I | JYP Jyvaskyla | Red Bull Salzburg | 3:2 (2:0, 1:1, 0:1) |
| 22.08.2014 | 20:05 | Group I | HV71 Jonkoping | Kloten Flyers | 3:2 (1:0, 1:1, 1:1) |
| 24.08.2014 | 14:35 | Group I | HV71 Jonkoping | Red Bull Salzburg | 3:5 (1:1, 0:1, 2:3) |
| 24.08.2014 | 16:00 | Group I | JYP Jyvaskyla | Kloten Flyers | 2:0 (1:0, 1:0, 0:0) |
| 05.09.2014 | 19:30 | Group I | Red Bull Salzburg | JYP Jyvaskyla | 4:0 (1:0, 1:0, 2:0) |
| 05.09.2014 | 19:45 | Group I | Kloten Flyers | HV71 Jonkoping | 0:5 (0:2, 0:2, 0:1) |
| 07.09.2014 | 15:45 | Group I | Kloten Flyers | JYP Jyvaskyla | 2:3 (2:0, 0:1, 0:1, 0:1) |
| 07.09.2014 | 17:45 | Group I | Red Bull Salzburg | HV71 Jonkoping | 3:1 (1:0, 0:1, 2:0) |
| 23.09.2014 | 18:30 | Group I | JYP Jyvaskyla | HV71 Jonkoping | 4:3 (2:0, 0:2, 1:1, 0:0, 1:0) |
| 23.09.2014 | 19:45 | Group I | Kloten Flyers | Red Bull Salzburg | 0:2 (0:0, 0:0, 0:2) |
| 07.10.2014 | 19:30 | Group I | Red Bull Salzburg | Kloten Flyers | |
| 07.10.2014 | 20:05 | Group I | HV71 Jonkoping | JYP Jyvaskyla |
Game Day 6 possibilities
For an explanation of how the final 16 teams are determined, click here.
Red Bull Salzburg: home vs Kloten. Clinch 1st place with 1 point. With 0 points, they still finish 1st as long as JYP take no more than 2. In case they take 0 points and JYP takes 3, a 2nd place wild-card is probable, but not guaranteed. Win tie-breaker vs JYP.
JYP Jyvaskyla: away vs HV71. Clinch 1st place with 3 points, combined with 0 from Salzburg. If Salzburg take at least 1 point, JYP still clinch a 2nd place wild-card with 3 points. A wild-card is probable but not guaranteed with 2 points, and less likely but still possible with 1. Cannot advance with 0 points because they'd lose a tie-breaker with HV71. Also lose tie-breaker with Salzburg.
HV71 Jonkoping: home vs JYP. Cannot finish 1st place. With 3 points, a 2nd place wild-card is possible, but highly unlikely. Would win tie-breaker with HV71.