The Vienna Capitals, Lukko Rauma and Skelleftea AIK, times are good right now. Not only have they advanced to the playoff stage of the Champions Hockey League, but they are also on top of their domestic leagues as well. Take a look at how all of the CHL clubs are doing.
by Luke Fisher
With the CHL Group Stage now over, it’s back to the domestic season only for 28 of the 44 teams that started the tournament. So what’s the situation across the European Leagues so far?
Austria
The Vienna Capitals and Red Bull Salzburg are the top two teams in the EBEL standings so far, with the Capitals a point ahead of their CHL counterparts on 16 points from 10 games. Vienna avenged last week’s home defeat to the Graz 99ers by winning 2-1 in the Styrian capital, while Salzburg climbed back into second thanks to their win over basement side Ljubljana and fellow CHL team HC Bolzano beating Linz 4-1. The Foxes sit in mid-table, two points above Villach SV, who have had a poor start to the season. The only shining light for Villach so far is their derby win over local rivals Klagenfurt 4-1 over the weekend.
Denmark
Sønderjyske Vojens sit in third place in the Metal Ligaen following their 2-0 win over the Frederikshavn White Hawks this weekend just gone. Leading the league so far is Blue Fox Herning; however, they have just a slender one-point advantage over the three teams – including Sønderjyske – beneath them.
France
Briançon Diables Rouges got their first regulation time win in the Ligue Magnus last weekend, overcoming Rouen 3-1. Two goals in 15 seconds helped them to the win, although they find themselves 10th in the league – and already five point off leaders Strasbourg.
Germany
Kölner Haie’s disappointing start to the season was too much for the team’s director to take, and ended with coach Uwe Krupp being fired last week. The new man at the helm is Niklas Sundblad, who has already had a previous spell in charge of Haie. However, his appointment did not see a change of results for the Cologne side, who went down 1-0 at home to Krefeld Pinguine and 5-4 to local rivals Düsseldorf. Adler Mannheim won 4-1 against Red Bull Munich to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points Munich, who recovered with a narrow home win against Augsburg – who now sit third. CHL sides ERC Ingolstad, Eisbären Berlin and Krefeld occupy fourth, sixth and seventh places respectively, while the Hamburg Freezers sit tied for 11th following an OT loss and a win over the weekend.
Czech Republic
Oceláři Třinec find themselves comfortably out in front of the Czech Extraliga after 11 games – their point total of 28 gives them a six-point cushion. Seven points behind are Sparta Prague, who picked up two wins over the weekend – including a 7-6 thriller against Vítkovice Ostrava. Bílí Tygři Liberec sit mid-table with 14 points from 7 games, while Vítkovice’s record of 12 from 12 puts them in 12th position. PSG Zlín are three points adrift at the foot of the table, but did manage a home win against sixth-place Energie Karlovy Vary to give their fans something to cheer about.
Finland
Teams from the Champions Hockey League occupy the top six spots in the Liiga. New leaders Lukko Rauma have a two-point cushion over KalPa Kuopio, after Lukko beat both Ässät and JYP Jyväskylä over the weekend. KalPa lost in Oulu but avenged the defeat on home ice against the same opposition the following day to stay second, followed by SaiPa Lappeenranta, who sit third thanks to an overtime win over the Pelicans. IFK Helsinki’s win over TPS Turku keeps them fourth, two points and one place ahead of the Turku side, with Kärpät Oulu in sixth. Other CHL clubs Tappara Tampere and JYP sit ninth and 10th respectively, with the Tampere side having a one-point advantage.
Great Britain
It was a strange weekend for the Nottingham Panthers, who played back-to-back games against Scottish side Fife Flyers. On home ice the Panthers’ poor power play saw them lose 4-3 to the Flyers after penalty shots, but the reverse fixture in Kirkcaldy the following evening was immediate revenge for the Panthers, who won 2-1. Due to their CHL commitments, Nottingham find themselves having only played four league games – compared to the Belfast Giants, on top, who have played nine already.
Norway
Two wins for the Stavanger Oilers see them now topping Norway’s GET-Ligaen by two points. The Oilers held on for a narrow 1-0 win away at Lørenskog IK, which saw them leapfrog their hosts into top spot. Vålerenga Oslo’s disappointing start to the season continued with a 3-1 loss in Storhamar. Oslo sit eighth out of 10 teams so far after winning the regular season last year.
Slovakia
Despite a heavy 5-1 home loss to Piešťany, HC Košice still lead Slovakia’s top league after 12 rounds – two points ahead of both Zvolen and Poprad. That loss was preceeded by a 3-2 road win over MHC Mountfield Martin, and keeps Košice top of the pile.
Sweden
Skellefteå AIK have overtaken Luleå Hockey at the top of the SHL, although that lead is only by one point. CHL teams occupy positions one through five in the league, with Frölunda Gothenburg, the Växjö Lakers and HV71 Jönköping all following the top two. Skellefteå overcame Djurgården Stockholm 3-2 to keep themselves top, while wins for Luleå (4-1 vs. MODO Örnsköldsvik), Växjö (2-0 vs Leksand IF), Frölunda (4-1 vs Linköping HC) and HV71 (5-0 vs Brynäs Gävle) sees the other four sides keeping pace. Färjestad Karlstad, whose indifferent CHL form cost thema place in the next round, lost in Brynäs and Örebro and find themselves second from the bottom.
Switzerland
Another coach of a CHL team has been sacked, this time Fribourg-Gottéron's Hans Kossmann. Despite winning their CHL group and advancing to the next round, sitting 11th in the NLA with eight points from 11 games was too much for the club’s management, who terminated Kossmann’s contract. ZSC Lions Zurich continue to lead the way in the league; however, their two-point lead over HC Davos is only by virtue of having played two more games. The Lions lost in Lugano before beating Davos 4-1 on home ice over the weekend just gone. Genève-Servette find themselves fourth, but six points off the lead after a win against the Lakers and a shootout loss to Ambri-Piotta. A point below them are EV Zug, who beat SC Bern 4-3 but lost by the same score at home to Biel. The Kloten Flyers remain last with four points, although took a shootout win over Lugano in their last game.