Frolunda Gothenburg's Ryan Lasch is in contention for the CHL's scoring title and MVP award, but he's more interested in winning the CHL title. Read below what he had to say in an interview he did for his club's official website. 

by Peter Pettersson Kymmer (FrolundaIndians.com)

GOTHENBURG – The Champions Hockey League Final between Frolunda Gothenburg and Karpat Oulu is approaching and if anybody knows what to expect, it's Frolunda right winger Ryan Lasch.

"Karpat are a deep team just like us, with four good lines. They have won two straight championships and are Finland's best team."

The 29-year-old American knows what he's talking about after two stints in the Finnish Liiga with Pelicans Lahti and TPS Turku. That puts him in a good position to see how these two teams match up against each other.

"But we shouldn't focus so much on them. We're gonna play our game and take advantage of the fact that we're a faster team," Lasch continued.

The CHL Final will come just days after a week with three Swedish Hockey League road games and the focus lately has naturally been more on Farjestad Karlstad, HV71 Jonkoping and Skelleftea AIK. However, the game in Finland has been in the back of Lasch's mind. 

"Personally, I have been thinking about the game and I think everyone has been. It's all about the Final and the title," says the CHL's leading point-scorer.

With 15 points (6 + 9) in 12 games, he has a 3-point lead on teammates Spencer Abbott and Artturi Lehkonen, the nearest people that can catch him who will play in the Final – Karpat's top scorer is Julius Junttila with 10 points. In addition to probably taking home the Cramo Top Scorer award, he is one of the three finalists for the NordicBet MVP Trophy. His amazing overtime goal to win the Round of 32 against ERC Ingolstadt was also in contention in the CHL Best Goals competition, reaching the Semi-Finals before getting eliminated.

"That's cool, but you gotta remember that my teammates are the reason I'm nominated and it's the fans who have voted for me. I would trade those personal awards for the CHL title any day of the week."

And on the prospect of winning Europe's club hockey title, Lasch simply says, "It would be great."

As he started the CHL season with TPS, Lasch wasn't eligible to play for Frolunda, so he watched the Final in Lulea helplessly as his teammates blew a a 2–0 lead and lost 4–2. Might that experience be a factor in the outcome of Tuesday's game?

"I think so. Revenge is something we can use to motivate ourselves."

This interview first appeared HERE at the official website of Frolunda Gothenburg.