The final Press Conference ahead of the Champions Hockey League Final tomorrow evening took place today in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Frölunda Gothenburg Head Coach Robert Ohlsson, club captain Max Friberg and Luleå Hockey Head Coach Thomas Berglund were all present at the event and gave us their thoughts ahead of the biggest game of the season, while Luleå captain Erik Gustafsson joined via video call.
First to speak was Gustafsson, noting that his side are hard at work preparing for tomorrow's game. He also went straight into discussing their approach to the game: “We’ve learned from past Finals, started the team captain, "the emotion you go through during the big games is something else, I think handling your emotions while trying to enjoy the moment is important."
"I like our chances for tomorrow, we’ve been playing really strong recently."Erik Gustafsson, Luleå Hockey
“Frölunda are one of the best teams in Sweden and Europe, but I like our chances for tomorrow as we’ve been playing really strong recently,” he commented, highlighting familiar opponents Frölunda, adding, “we’re hard to beat when we’re playing our style of hockey.”
Luleå Head Coach Thomas Berglund spoke next: “It’s a big game for us, we know we’re going to face a top team and we’ll have to bring our best game."
“Continuously improving over the course of the season has been a strength of ours,” added the head coach who has been in charge at Luleå since 2017 and won the SHL with the club last season.
“I expect a tight and tense game, we need to try and hold the puck as much as possible."Thomas Berglund, Luleå Hockey
Next up to speak was Max Friberg: “I feel such a strong connection to this club and this city, captaining this team in the Final is going to be amazing.”
“Our fans have been behind us all season and will give us the extra edge tomorrow,” said the team captain, noting how important playing in Gothenburg's Scandinavium will be for the four-time CHL Champions.
“Staying in the moment is going to be key."Max Friberg, Frölunda Gothenburg
Frölunda Head Coach Robert Ohlsson has only missed a single CHL season in his coaching career, having been on the bench for three previous Finals of Europe’s biggest club ice hockey competition, most recently guiding Skellefteå AIK to CHL Final 2024, where they lost to Genève-Servette.
“It’s always a huge honour and will be again when we go out in front of our crowd in Gothenburg tomorrow,” he said, concluding the press conference.
Watch the saved livestream of the press conference below!