Luleå Hockey have been the team to beat all season long and enter the 2023 Champions Hockey League Final unbeaten. Their near-perfect sporting record has also earned them the right to host the ultimate one-game showdown in Luleå, as the Swedish team have everything in place to end their memorable season on the pan-European stage with another win and, more importantly, the European Trophy high above their heads. What's behind their success?
SHL side Luleå are no strangers to the CHL, having previously won the competition back in 2014/15 and having participated in four previous seasons of the annual competition. The one-time SHL champions are widely known throughout Sweden as being the northernmost team in the league and have also made a name for themselves on the European stage over the years.
What’s been the key to their dominant form in 2022/23? For starters, the SHL side have scored 41 goals whilst letting only 21 in for a goal difference of +20. Luleå’s forwards have been pretty deadly up front, scoring an average of nearly 3.5 goals per game. Furthermore, the Swedes have scored 2+ goals in every game so far this season.
A key statistic that is often overlooked is face-off win percentage and that is an area Luleå are strong in, with over 54% of pucks ending up in their possession after hitting the ice, a league-high. They've also been strong on the penalty kill, which has been operating at over 90%.
Defensively, Luleå have also been really tight, but the team’s defencemen have also been immensely valuable on the attack with most of them recording three or more points. Equally, Matteus Ward has been impressive in net racking up a 92.61 save percentage over the course of 11 games, especially considering this is the 21-year-old’s first season with the Swedish outlet.
Is there a catch to their game? If there is, no one’s found it yet. They've turned games around with late goals, won in OT, came out on top in a shootout and have managed games when they've needed to with tight defending and reliable goaltending - the complete team.
Luleå secured their spot in the all-or-nothing 2023 Final following a dramatic game against fellow SHL side Frölunda Gothenburg that had to be decided by a shootout. This is the first time they have made it this far in the CHL since their title-winning season of 2014/15 during which they pulled off a memorable comeback from a five-goal aggregate deficit to beat Red Bull Salzburg in the Round of 16 and turned around a two-goal deficit against Frölunda in the Final to win the trophy.
Back then, Luleå's line-up featured twin brothers Cam and Chris Abbott in the first line, both of them have since hung up their skates and gone on to pursue managing careers, with Chris acting as Rögle Ängelholm's Sports Director, whilst Cam lead the very same team to Champions Hockey League glory last season. The two of them are the only two people to have won the CHL both as players and as coaches.
The current Luleå roster still features one player that is still in the team after all those years - goaltender Joel Lassinantti, who has played three games in net for the Swedes in 2022/23 and has played for his club in each of their CHL appearances.
In a few weeks' time, Luleå will host the biggest game of the CHL season and will welcome fans and travellers from across Europe to northern Sweden for the ultimate showdown. With their home fans and city behind them, they have the perfect stage to add CHL title #2 to their trophy cabinet!
Luleå will face Finnish side Tappara Tampere in the ultimate one-game CHL Final in Luleå, Sweden on 18 February 2023 at 16:20 CET.