Read below for information about the semi-final series between Kärpät Oulu and Frölunda Gothenburg. Frölunda won 6–5 on aggregate to advance to the final. 

Game 2

OULU – Frolunda Gothenburg advanced to the finals of the Champions Hockey League in a game full of drama in Oulu, Finland. Karpat went into the game trailing by two goals from the first leg, but a magic minute saw the home side level the match-up as the third period drew to a close. Overtime ensued, and a power-play goal saw the visitors from western Sweden through.

"It was an important game for us," stated Frolunda head coach Roger Ronnberg, who is happy to advance but acknowledged that his team was second best in this game. "We were really lucky today and had great goaltending. I think we were better the game in Gothenburg and Karpat were the better team today, to be honest. I think we were lucky but we found a way to win. I know we can play better but I have a lot of respect for Karpat. They're a really good team."

"I'm so proud of my team and how we played," said Karpat coach Lauri Marjamaki. At the same time he admitted, "I am really dissapointed. We were the better team tonight and we came so close to the final. The atmosphere in the crowd was incredible tonight."

Trailing 4–2 from the game in Gothenburg, Karpat knew the importance of getting an early goal as they returned to home ice against Frolunda, and Joonas Donskoi duly obliged with a power-play goal with just 4:07 played. It was a tale of two power plays in the opening stages, with Mattias Janmark replying for Frolunda some two minutes later to re-establish the Indians' two-goal cushion.

Despite the power play efficiency in the first period, neither side could make the extra man count in the middle session. Both teams saw three power-play chances each go begging as the second stanza failed to produce any goals.

That blank period meant that Karpat had only 20 minutes to save their chances of making it to the CHL final, needing two goals in the final period to tie the score overall. Finally, after laying siege to the visitors' net, the home side made a power play opportunity count – Esa Pirnes reacted first to a loose puck off the back boards to put the Finnish side ahead 2–1 on the night, and bringing them back to within one overall at 48:37. Then, just over 30 seconds later, the home crowd was sent into ecstasy when Julius Junttila was sent clear by Joonas Kemppainen through a nice give and go on the blue line. He skated in on Lars Johansson and put the puck home, tying game with just over 10 minutes to play.

"We didn't skate as much as last game," said Frolunda captain Joel Lundqvist. "They came at us hard and we were too slow. We've gotta be a little faster next game." 

The final 10 minutes saw chances for both teams, though neither could find a goal and so the game headed into overtime. Karpat had the best chance to win the game quickly into the extra period as Frolunda's Niklas Lasu was called for tripping, but couldn't find a way through. Almost three minutes later, Karpat's Arto Laatikainen was sent to the penalty box for a hook after some lapse defending, and it took Erik Gustafsson just 1:09 of the extra man to win the game for Frölunda - Mathis Olimb's shot coming back off the post, and Gustafsson batting the puck out of mid-air into the net to score the sudden-death overtime winner.

"Of course, in overtime we had our own power play and we didn't score," acknowledged Marjamaki. "Maybe Frolunda had a bit more individual skill, but I'm so proud of my team and good luck to Frolunda (in the final)."

The goal was a thrilling end to a fine series, and while Karpat will be deeply disappointed to lose out, they battled hard to force overtime after a two-goal deficit. For Frolunda, a final against another SHL team awaits.

Game 1

GOTHENBURG – Frolunda Gothenburg go into next week's game in Oulu with a healthy two goal cushion, following their win by a pair of goals against Karpat Oulu tonight in Sweden. The game was interrupted by a lengthy stoppage due to problems with the ice at one end during the second period.

A very fast start to the game saw the teams trade goals with little over two minutes off the scoreboard. The hosts took the lead through Max Gortz with 21 seconds off the clock, however Oulu levelled things up with only 2:02 gone thanks to Julius Junttila. The game calmed down after the opening exchanges, with Frolunda growing into the match-up and putting their opponents under some serious pressure for long parts of the remainder of the first period. However, it remained tied after 20 minutes.

"We thought they would be a little more physical but they actually played more passive than we had expected," Frolunda assistant coach Klas Ostman told the club's website about Karpat's play, particuarly in the second period.

Robin Figren re-established the lead for the Indians at 28:27, before the game was to suffer from ice problems. A problem with the surface at the Zamboni end saw the play delayed for while the technicians worked to resolve the issue. With the safety of the players the referees' top concern, it took almost an hour for the ice to be playable again, after which the players re-emerged from the locker rooms, had a short re-warm up, and played the remaining eight minutes of the period – and it was the Swedes who responded better after the break. A slap shot from the point by Elias Falth found the back of Tomi Karhunen's net at 32:53 to make put Frolunda 3-1 ahead, and it got worse for Oulu just over five minutes later when a puck to the net deflected in off Anton Blidh's skate to make it 4–1.

"I think we looked strong and, above all, our play without the puck was good," said Ostman. "I also think that we had a very good power play and we could have scored a couple of goals. In addition to the power play, I am most pleased with the play of our forwards in the defensive zone. We always had guys back and that made it easier for our defenders to defend."

A third period fightback of sorts did see Karpat pull the score back to 4–2 through Mika Pyorala, but despite several other chances during the course of the final session the visitors were unable to half the deficit.

According to Frolunda coach Roger Ronnberg, it was "a bit disappointing that they were able to score that last goal and that we couldn't get another goal on the power play. (However), Karpat is a very good team and we are happy to be two goals up." Looking ahead to the game in Oulu, he added, "I've seen many of Karpat's home games and they play with more aggressive forechecking, more skating not standing still in the neutral zone. So it will be a more open game. The way we are used to."

Karpat head home to Finland knowing that they will need at least three goals on home ice next week to have any chance of making the final; however, the can take confidence from knowing that they have not lost at home in the CHL so far this season. Frolunda, meanwhile, will remember that they have already lost on the road in the CHL – in Helsinki and Geneva – so the job is not done yet.

Preview

Kärpät Oulu of Finland and and Frölunda Gothenburg of Sweden will face each other in the Champions Hockey League semi-finals. Not only is this an intriguing match-up because of the Finland-versus-Sweden dynamic, but it features two of the top teams in the Liiga and SHL, respectively. 

After 31 games, Kärpät lead a tight race atop the Finnish circuit, a mere point ahead of JYP Jyväskylä and KalPa Kuopio, while IFK Helsinki and Lukko Rauma are still within striking distance. Defence has been the key to Kärpät's success, having given up the second-fewest number of goals in the league. Offensively they're more middle of the pack. These trends are consistent with their CHL experience, as their 28 goals scored and 17 goals against are both the lowest totals of the four remaining teams. Just as he is in the CHL, Joonas Donskoi is the team's leading scorer in the domestic league with 22 points, tied with Ivan Huml.

Frölunda, meanwhile, are second place in the SHL after 30 games, trailing Skelleftea by a good margin. Like Kärpät, they have the second-best ranked defence domestically and are closer to the middle of the pack offensively. This contrasts with their CHL totals, where they have scored 50 goals in 10 games and boast the competition's top three scorers – Mathis Olimb, Andreas Johnsson and defenceman Erik Gustafsson with 24, 23 and 17 points, respectively. Through 30 SHL games, those are also the team's top three domestic scorers – Olimb leads the way with 25 points (6+19).

Karpat hope for support from all of Finland in semi-final vs Frolunda

Janmark thinks "it'll be fun" to eliminate another Finnish club from CHL

Former Frolunda Indian Pyorala returns to Gothenburg: "It's going to be a big challenge for us"

Closer look: Kärpät Oulu

(7-2-0-1, 25 points, 28:17)

After winning Group A with 13 points, Kärpät Oulu breezed through the eighth-finals and quarter-finals with four straight wins. Just as in the group stage, the key to their success has been defence, surrendering only five goals in the four games. They opened with a 3–1 win over the Vienna Capitals, then followed it up with a 3–2 win in the Austrian capital to take the series by a 6–3 aggregate. In the quarters, they opened on the road and did themselves a huge favour by snagging a 2–0 victory in Lappeenranta. Donskoi scored both goals in the game while Iiro Tarkki stopped all 16 shots he faced in a defensive game. Coming home with the two-goal advantage, they didn't disappoint, winning 5–2 to not only earn a berth in the semi-finals, but secure home-ice advantage again in the second game. 

While Kärpät have been hard to beat through their first 10 CHL games, it's important to note that Frölunda will be the first Swedish club that they face.

Joonas

Donskoi

7+4, +11

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Donskoi recorded six points in the group stage and added two more in the two games against Vienna and then scored three goals in the home-and-away set with SaiPa to retain the top scorer’s jersey. Kärpät's most dangerous offensive weapon, Donskoi is also tied for the team lead in Liiga scoring as well.

Adam

Masuhr

3+4, +6

 

Top Defenceman: Adam Masuhr has been deadly from the back end for Kärpät throughout the CHL, scoring three times – including including the first goal of the Vienna series – and adding four helpers as a big contributor to the team's offence. His offence wasn't needed as much against SaiPa as he added one assist in teh two games, but he was a physical presence on the blueline, as he always is.

 

Iiro

Tarkki

93.14 %

 

Top Goaltender: Tarkki only played one CHL group game, but he's been their go-to guy so far in Liiga play and coach Marjamakki has turned to him in all four playoff games so far against Vienna and SaiPa. He's been solid, recording a shutout and Kärpät will need him to come up big against the offensive juggernaut of Frölunda.

 

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: Frölunda Gothenburg

(8-0-0-2, 24 points, 50:20)

Frölunda Gothenburg tied at the top of Group C along with Geneve-Servette win 15 points and really racked up the goals, lighting the lamp 35 points in six games. Predictably, they haven't produced at quite that clip in the playoffs, but they have managed to add 15 goals in four games for a CHL-leading total of 50.

They started the eighth-finals off on the right foot, winning 5–1 in Tampere en route to a 9–3 aggregate win over Tappara. Their competition was much stiffer in the quarters, however. After falling 2–1 on the road to IFK Helsinki, they came back with a 5–3 win on home ice, with Robin Figren scoring the dramatic series-winning goal in the final minute.  

Kärpät are now Frölunda's third-straight Finnish opponent in the CHL playoffs. Though they won the first two series, they had trouble with IFK Helsinki and Kärpät are slightly higher in the Liiga standings.

Mathis 

Olimb

7+17, +11

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Olimb and Johnsson have been ranked first and second in CHL scoring almost from the beginning, flipping back and fourth and frequently tied. Right now, it's Olimb, the 28-year-old Norwegian, with a one-point lead. They're dangerous in tandem, however, with Olimb more the playmaker and 19-year-old Johnsson the sniper, and Kärpät will have to be careful with both. 

 

Erik

Gustafsson

5+12, +7

 

Top Defenceman: Gustafsson's 17 points after 10 games leads all CHL defencemen and, in fact, places him third in overall scoring after teammates Olimb and Johnsson. His SHL numbers aren't too shabby either, with 19 points in his first 30 games.

 

Linus

Fernström

90.67%

 

Top Goaltender: Linus Fernström has started 20 of Frölunda's first 30 SHL games, though he's played in only four of 10 CHL group games. Whether it's him or Lars Johansson, however, both goalies have put up sparkling domestic numbers and have split the series against Tappara and IFK Helsinki. With all the team's offence they haven't needed solid goaltending so far in the CHL, but they probably will now in the later rounds.

Click here for team statistics.