SHL club Rögle Ängelholm managed what clubs first entering the Champions Hockey League only dream of – making it all the way to the Final during their debut season.
As they prepare for their biggest game of the season, let’s roll back the games and take a closer look at the windy road that has led them to this point.
It all started on Game Day 1…
Rögle’s first-ever CHL game turned out to be a precursor to their entire season. The Swedish club were drawn into Group D and Game Day 1 pitted them against CHL veterans and 2021 Swiss NL champions EV Zug.
Zug, with all their international prowess, were favourites going into this game, but what a show dark horses Rögle ended up putting on!
Rögle put five into Zug’s net to mark their first game of a new club chapter with a big win. Adam Tambellini scored Rögle’s first goal in the CHL and teammate Ted Brithén ended the night on three points!
Late drama against Munich
Their Game Day 1 performance was just the start of their near-perfect Group Stage run. After Zug, Rögle went on to face another big CHL name – 2018/19 finalists Red Bull Munich on Game Day 2.
Another wild back-and-forth game was in stock as Rögle entered the final minute of the game losing 2-3. But in the final twenty seconds of the game, Rögle scored two goals to win the game 4-3!
This infamous Group Stage game showcased an important trait of Rögle that would be visible many more times throughout the season – they play down to the final seconds, no game is done and dusted with Rögle until the final buzzer sounds.
Tambellini scored the game-winner, as hot young NHL prospect Marco Kasper recorded his first two goals in the CHL.
5-1 Group Stage record
The rest of the Group Stage saw the SHL club win three more games and lose just once, 2-1 against Munich away, to finish top of their group with 14 points.
Rögle scored 23 goals over the course of the Group Stage as the likes of Lucas Ekeståhl Jonsson, Ludvig Larsson and Adam Tambellini made their way onto the CHL stats leaderboards.
First Playoffs round
Rögle’s first venture into the CHL Playoffs saw the SHL side drawn against ZSC Lions Zurich for the Round of 16.
The first game in Switzerland was locked at 3-3 with just minutes of the game left, but up stepped Rögle’s Samuel Jonsson, scoring at 59:28 to earn his side an important one-goal lead heading into the Return Game the following week.
The Return Game ended 3-1 in Rögle’s favour as the Swedes moved on to the Quarter-Finals.
Two tough games against Sparta
Rögle’s Return Game against Sparta Prague in the Quarter-Finals saw the Swedes narrowly escape elimination. A 5-2 victory in the First Game put Rögle in prime position to book their ticket to the next round, however, a desperate push by Sparta in the Return Game would complicate matters as the Czechs closed the aggregate gap, scoring three goals in the third period.
Fortunately for the Swedish club, a Brady Ferguson tally in the final frame was all the hosts needed to move on, and despite losing the game 3-1, Rögle were able to advance with an aggregate score of 6-5.
Rögle’s Lucas Ekeståhl Jonsson had a killer of a game against Sparta in the First Game. The 25-year-old defenceman scored his second goal of the season and assisted two in his team’s 5-2 win over the Czechs.
Just take a look at this strike!
A familiar foe – Frölunda
The Semi-Finals pitted Rögle against a familiar opponent – fellow SHL side Frölunda Gothenburg.
And what a show these two teams put on in the First Game! Rögle came out on top of the eight-goal thriller, with Ted Brithén burying a hattrick into Frölunda’s net, as Rögle ended the night with a two-goal advantage for the Return Game, putting the onus on Frölunda for the following week.
The reigning champions had their skating legs to begin the second contest, but Anton Bengtsson’s quick goal 32 seconds into the match-up helped give Rögle the boost they needed to eventually end Frölunda’s season, winning 8-4 on aggregate and knocking out one of the biggest favourites of the season.
Biggest game of the season ahead
Heading into the Final, the Swedes house one of the CHL’s most potent powerplays, at one point operating at a spectacular 50% - and still lead the league with an impressive 42.86%.
They also head into the Final having scored 44 goals, the second best in the CHL, and with a goal difference of +17, also second best CHL-wide.