Mountfield HK have had a long and tough journey to the Champions Hockey League Final but the challenges they have had to face along the way have only made them stronger and more determined to win coming into their most important match of the season.
The Czech team finished fourth in the previous Extraliga season and secured their third consecutive CHL qualification in doing so. After two previous years of finishing bottom of their group and exiting before the playoffs, Mountfield set their goal to make it out of the Group Stage for the first time at the start of the season but when they were drafted into a very tough Group H, featuring the likes of the three-time CHL Champions Frölunda Indians, British champions Cardiff Devils and EBEL regular-season winners Graz99ers, they knew they would have to be on top of their game to make it through.
On Game Day 1 the team travelled to Cardiff for their first game of the season, which ended in a 2-3 loss to the Brits, but their second away game against Frölunda gave them a very important first win. This 3-2 win over the defending champions seemed to kick-start the team and by the time the Group Stage was over, Mountfield were sitting comfortably in second place in the standings with 12 points from four wins and two losses.
The Round of 16 saw a clash of first timers Mountfield and one of the most lethal sides of the season so far – Adler Mannheim. The German team had gone through the Group Stage losing just a single game and where favourites leading up to the series, but Mountfield beat them at home thanks to a sole goal from Aleš Jergl and drew with them away to advance unbeaten.
Mountfield’s Quarter-Finals series against EV Zug was a similar story – after drawing in Hradec Králové, Mountfield beat Zug 4-0 in Switzerland and further extended their unbeaten run thanks to some world-class saves from goaltender Marek Mazanec.
In the Semi-Finals they faced Swedish giants Djurgården Stockholm in a series which was to be Mountfield’s toughest yet, but after two very dominant and controlling wins from Mountfield and two important goals from captain Radek Smoleňák, they were through to their first ever CHL Final and made it without losing a single Playoff game!
They are only the second Czech team to have reached the Final after Sparta Prague in 2016/17, but will Mounfield have it in them to beat Frölunda once again, just like they did back on Game Day 2?