You can truly never count out the Frölunda Indians. Trailing by three goals after the first leg of their Round of 16 clash against fellow Swedish club Färjestad Karlstad, what do the defending CHL Champions go and do? Score six goals in the final period, including a Niklas Lasu hattrick, and win 11-8 on aggregate.
A comeback of this magnitude requires heart, grit and skill, something the Indians have in abundance. They have a tradition of somehow finding a way to get the result they need, even when their cards are against them. Let’s delve into the history books and remember some of the events which may make it less surprising that Frölunda were able to fight their way back against Färjestad.
2015/16 – Comeback Champions
In 2014/15, Frölunda had a desperately tough playoff schedule, facing three Finnish teams in a row on their way to the Finals. After blowing past Tappara Tampere in the Round of 16, the Swedish club faced IFK Helsinki in the Quarter-Finals. The Finnish club brought a 2-1 lead into the return game, and things were tense the entire game. Two goals in 81 seconds in the third period by Robin Figren and Mathis Olimb looked to have finally given Frölunda the advantage to get past the stern Finnish test, but IFK found the back of the net to tie things up on aggregate. Figren would score with 50 seconds to go in the third period to give the Indians a crucial win, and sent them on their way to the Semi-Finals, where they would face Kärpät Oulu.
The Semi-Final clash would go to overtime, with the Finnish side scoring two third period goals to get back into the tie. However, Erik Gustafsson netted five minutes into the extra frame to send Frölunda to the Finals. Unfortunately for the Indians, Luleå Hockey were too strong and became the first ever holders of the European Trophy. However, that is where our story just gets started.
Rather than fold from the disappointment of the Finals loss, Frölunda came back stronger in 2015/16. They went undefeated in the Group Stage, and moved onto the Round of 32 against ERC Ingolstadt, but that is where they faced their first road bump. Trailing 4-2 after the first leg, Frölunda had to score twice in the third period of the return game, including a Lukas Bengtsson goal with just 71 seconds to play, to get the game to overtime, before guess who? Ryan Lasch scored the OT winner.
Frölunda would trail after the first legs of both their Round of 16 clash against HC Litvínov and their rematch against Luleå Hockey. Against Litvínov, the Indians thrashed the Czech side 6-0 in the return game, while their revenge against the 2014/15 Champions came in the shootout. A dominant Semi-Finals win against HC Davos set up the Final against Kärpät. The Indians held on despite some third period pressure to avenge the previous season’s Finals defeat and win the first of three CHL titles.
2016/17 – Find a way to win
In many respects, Frölunda’s defence of their first European Trophy got off to a shaky start. They lost to HC Pardubice and Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Group Stage and sneaked into the Playoffs. The first leg of their Round of 32 clash against an always tricky Yunost Minsk club ended with the Belarussian side taking a one-goal lead to the Scandinavium. However, the Indians thrashed Yunost 5-0 in the return game, and began a path of destruction to the Final.
Frölunda won their Round of 32, Quarter-Finals, and Semi-Finals matchups by a combined aggregate score of 28-5, setting up the showpiece event against Czech club Sparta Prague. After months of domination, finally the Indians would face a test.
Sparta took the lead twice in the first period, only for Frölunda to claw their way back every time. Casey Wellman’s second-period goal gave Frölunda their first lead in the game, but an equaliser in the third period by Sparta sent the game into overtime.
Big game? Big moment? Enter Niklas Lasu. The forward who scored a hattrick in the third period of Frölunda’s most recent comeback against Färjestad did it once again, scoring just 87 seconds into overtime to make the Indians double CHL Champions.
Recent years – A tradition of winning
Over the last three seasons, Frölunda have always found a way to win, even when their backs are against the wall. Who could forget their astounding comeback in their opening game of the 2017/18 season against ZSC Lions Zurich. They did not lead at any point of the game, and scored twice in the final four minutes of the third period to sent the game to overtime, before Lasch, again, got the OT winner.
One year later, in 2018/19, Frölunda looked to be on the ropes in their Round of 16 clash against HC Lugano. The Swiss side fought their way to a 1-1 tie in the first game, and two second period goes gave Lugano a lead heading into the final frame of the return game. With eight minutes to go, Anders Grönlund tied the game before Ryan Lasch would score the winner with less than three minutes left in regulation.
Therefore, it may not be a shock that Frölunda found a way to win against Färjestad last week. They have a history of finding a way to either claw their way back into games, or to find a way to win when the pressure is truly on. They are on the hunt for their unprecedented fourth European Trophy victory… Can EHC Biel-Bienne stop them?
The first leg of the Quarter-Final clash between Frölunda Indians and EHC Biel-Bienne takes place at 3 December at 18:00 CET. The return leg is a week later on 10 December, face-off 19:45 CET.