Frolunda begin title defence in Belarus

Frolunda Gothenburg are the reigning CHL champions, but they didn't really look like it in the group stage, struggling against both Grizzlys Wolfsburg and Dynamo Pardubice. In particular, their vaunted offence, which outscored all other teams in the first two CHL seasons, struggled, with just 11 goals in just four games. One has to think, however, that it's just a matter of time before they get it all together. One must also remember that they had some close calls in each of the last two CHL campaigns en route to the Final. Their opponents are the champions from Belarus, Yunost Minsk. Yunost survived a very tight group with the Vaxjo Lakers and BK Mlada Boleslav. They took two of six points against Vaxjo, and now they face another Swedish club – the best one, in fact. Yunost have proven tough to beat on home ice. They have the first game in Minsk, and if they can take advantage of that and get a jump on Frolunda, and get the clutch goaltending they got from Dmitri Milchakov in the group stage, an upset is not out of the question at all. 

Frolunda Gothenburg were expected to win Group A, and they did, but it was a lot harder than expected. First it was a narrow 2-1 win in Wolfsburg, followed by a 3-2 overtime loss in Pardubice. When they got home to Gothenburg, things seemed to be getting back on track with a 5-2 win over Pardubice, which wrapped up the group. In the group's last game, with a lot at stake for the visitors, Wolfsburg won 3-2 to become the group's other qualifier. With that behind them, the knock-out stage is now ahead. In each of the CHL's first two seasons, Frolunda has reached the Final both times. The first opponent in their way this time is Yunost Minsk of Belarus, and they won't be pushovers. 

By winning their first two CHL games on home ice 4-3 in regulation time over BK Mlada Boleslav and 4-3 in overtime over the Vaxjo Lakers, Yunost Minsk were on the verge of qualifying for the Round of 32. After a 3-2 loss in Mlada Boleslav, they were in the next round due to winning the tie-breaking aggregate score, thanks to a huge last-minute breakaway save by Dmitri Milchakov. They then had a chance to win the group in Vaxjo but lost 4-0 to finish second. Before the start of the CHL playoffs, Yunost signed two defencemen: Slovenian international Sabahudin Kovacevic and former Dinamo Minsk player Evgeni Nogachev. Will that be enough to put them over the top against the defending CHL champions?

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