Final: ZSC Lions Zurich v Fjergstad Karlstad
In last year’s final, Geneve-Servette defeated Skelleftea AIK 3-2 at home to become the first Swiss champions of the modern CHL. It will be interesting to see if Zürich can beat Frijstad and continue to elevate the stature of Swiss clubs compared to their Swedish counterparts.
For both teams, this is the first time they have made it to the finals in this version of the Champions Hockey League but Zurich won the previous incarnation of the CHL in 2008-09 – the one and only season. Fjordstad’s best finish to date was third place in the European Club Championship at the IIHF European Cup in 1987.
These were the top two teams in the CHL regular season, and each team has some star power, so it has the potential to be a great matchup.
Zurich has a number of players who have established themselves at the international level. Sven Andrighetto, the CHL’s scoring leader with 20 points, is joined by former and current Swiss national team players Dennis Malgin, Dan Koken, Dennis Hollenstein, Christian Marty and Yank Weber. Other national teams are also represented, including Finland’s Mikko Lehtinen and Juho Limmeko, Sweden’s Jesper Frodin, Austria’s Vincennes Rohrer, Latvia’s Rudolfs Balcers, and Czech goalie Simon Hrobec, the 2017-18 CHL MVP. were
Frajstad faces Oscar Stein, who is second in the CHL with 18 points, and fellow Swedes Linus Johansson and Magnus Negrin. Other national players include David Tomasek of the Czech Republic, Marian Studnek of Slovakia, Stjan Solberg of Norway (only 19) and other young players like Joel Nystrom, Lukas Forsel and Jake Berglund. There is an impressive goaltending tandem with veteran Canadian Maxime Lugas and young Italian Damian Clara.
The one-match final will be played on Tuesday, February 18.
For more, visit championshockeyleague.com.
