Frolunda Gothenburg won their second consecutive CHL title, but they were pushed to the limit. The man on the back end who had to withstand a lot of the assaults from Sparta Prague – especially in the third period – is goaltender Johan Gustafsson, who spoke after the game. 

by Efraim Larsson

GOTHENBURG – Playing in their third consecutive Champions Hockey League Final, Frolunda Gothenburg beat Sparta Prague 4-3 in overtime to win their second straight European title.  

As Sparta came to dominate the third period, Frolunda goaltender Johan Gustafsson played a big part in his team's win. Sparta out-shot the home team 16-3 in the third period, but only managed to score one goal to tie the 3-2 lead that Frolunda brought with them from the second period.

Congratulations, Johan. Explain the first thought that comes to your mind after this win.

“Thanks, it just feels amazing right now. I mean, that we’re able to pull it off this title win in front of our home crowd, it’s huge. You don’t get to play for the big prize every day, so obviously it’s something special.”

Frolunda played the first Champions Hockey League Final, in the 2014-15 season, on the road and lost 4-2 against Lulea Hockey. They took revenge by beating Finnish Karpat Oulu 2-1 on the road last season and actually also won the SHL championship 4 games to 1 over Skelleftea AIK, winning the last game on the road. Therefore, the opportunity to actually win a title on home ice was something special, and the fans at Frolundaborgs Isstadion understood this as well.

“The atmosphere was just stunning and the fans were awesome in the stands, and battled well with the huge and loud Sparta contingent. It is so awesome to be a part of this team and that we pulled this off here tonight. We have a lot to thank the fans for.” 

Nicklas Lasu is one of the most iconic Frolunda players of modern time, despite his young age of 27. Since entering the junior league, he has been a loyal member of the Gothenburg club with over 500 games for the team on his resume. There are few guys who are more deserving of getting the game-winning attention as he is.

“I don't think there's a better guy to be the big hero and determine a game like this. I mean, he has been here for ages, he fights hard for this team every day and he sets the standard for everyone else how things should be done. He’s just a role model for everyone on this team and it’s just cool that he’s the one that scored the game-winning goal.”

And the game itself, it was quite a crazy one, huh?

“It was… Yeah, it must’ve been an incredible game to witness from the stands, right? It feels like it could’ve gone either way and the shots on goal statistics (15-16, 16-4, 3-16, 1-0) are good evidence of that.”

It was a bit back-and-forth regarding which team that held command. I mean, after you dominated the second period, you yourself faced quite a tough third period, where Sparta shot you out 16-3.

“Yeah, I don’t really know—”

“—what on earth they were doing,” goaltending coach Kristoffer Martin filled in playfully.

“No, but honestly,” Gustafsson continued, “Sparta is without doubt one of the most skilled and competent teams we’ve faced this year and they really forced us to play our best. When they came at us in the third, the guys in front of me fought so hard to help me out, and they blocked an incredible amount of shot attempts, so I owe them a lot!”

In 12 months, Frolunda have collected two Champions Hockey League titles and one SHL title. Whether or not they will achieve “the Double” (Both CHL and SHL titles during the same season) for the second consecutive season, we’ll have to wait approximately two months to find out!