Game 2 preview: Kärpät Oulu vs Frölunda Gothenburg

After winning 4–2 on home ice in Game 1, Frölunda Gothenburg now travel to Oulu with a chance to advance to the CHL final. However, there they will encounter a Kärpät team that is very strong at home. Read below for other information to get you ready for the game.

by Efraim Larsson

Game 2 facts

Time & place: 18:30 EET at Oulun Energia-Areena, Oulu (17:30 CET).
Television: MTV, Eurosport Sweden, ONE World Sports, L'Equipe 21, ESPN Brazil, Sport1, Sport TV.
Referees: Roman Gofman (RUS), Vladimír Šindler (CZE). Linesmen: Jani Pesonen (FIN), Joonas Saha (FIN).
Live blog

Road to the semi-finals

Frölunda Gothenburg only lost one of the six games in Group Stage, 4–3 at Genève-Servette, and ended up winning Group C with 15 points and a goal difference of +22 (35–13). In the eighth-final, Frölunda had no problem eliminating Tappara Tampere 5–1 and 4–2 (a total aggregate of 9-3) and, after two great quarter-final games against IFK Helsinki, Frölunda advanced to the semi-finals after scoring the tie-breaking with just 50 seconds left in Game 2 (1–2, 5–3 = 6–5).

Kärpät Oulu also lost only one game in the Group Stage, where they won Group A with 13 points and a goal difference of +5 (17–12). In the eighth-final, Kärpät eliminated the Vienna Capitals by a 6–3 total (3–1 and 3–2) and then, with two more wins against SaiPa Lappeenranta (2–0, 3–2 = 5–2), advanced to the semis. Thanks to an overall CHL record of 7–2–0–1 (25 points), Kärpät holds home-ice advantage against Frölunda’s 8–0–0–2 (24 points) and play the second game on home ice.

Game 1 recap

In Game 1 one of the biggest concerns was the ice, which caused a delay of 90 minutes in the middle of the second period. Even though Frölunda had a 2–1 lead when the problem occurred, Kärpät had been the better team. But Frölunda seemed to get a little boost from the break and quickly increased their lead to 4–1 before Kärpät managed to cut the deficit to 4–2 in the third period.

Read more from the game here and the live blog here.

Statistics

Both Kärpät and Frölunda are two of the best teams in the CHL at scoring the first goal of the game. In Frölunda’s 11 games so far, they have scored the first goal in 9 of them. On home ice they are 6–0, and 3–2 on the road. Kärpät have scored the first goal in 8 out of 11 games and aren’t far behind in that column. One interesting note is that Kärpät were 5–0 in scoring the first goal on the road before Game 1 in Gothenburg (facing 5–0 Frölunda) and on home ice Kärpät are 3–2 (the same as Frölunda on the road). Down by two goals in the aggregate score, scoring first is absolutely critical for Kärpät in Game 2.

Frölunda are the best team in the first period with a record of 6–4–1 (W–T–L) and a goal difference of +12 (16–4). On the road they have a record of 2–2–1 and a goal difference of +4 (6–2). Kärpät, on the other hand, aren’t far behind with a record of 5–5–1 and a goal difference of +7 (11–4). On home ice, Kärpät have been solid with a record of 2–2–1 and a goal difference of +2 (4–2). With this in mind, expect a low-scoring first period in the rematch.

As a matter of fact, Frölunda were shut out in the first period in the two first games of the tournament. In each of the following nine games, Frölunda have scored in the first period.

In all five games on home ice, Kärpät have registered at least 10 shots on goal in the first period (an average of 12.6 shots on target per first period). Notable though is that Frölunda, in five games on the road, have never let their opponents get more than nine shots on target in the first period (29 total shots, an average of 5.8 shots per first period).

The only two games Frölunda have lost in this tournament occurred when the opponents scored the first goal of the game in the first period.

While Kärpät have the ninth-best goalkeeping statistics with a save percentage of 91.57% (21 goals allowed on 249 shots) and a goals-against average of 1.89, it’s rather interesting that we find Frölunda in 37th place with a save percentage of 88.61% (23 goals allowed on 202 shots).

Special teams

The monstrous power play of Frölunda is clearly one of the big reasons for their success in the CHL. You simply can’t dismiss 18 goals on 54 chances (33.33%), which is the best power play in the tournament. Frölunda are also noted for having the best penalty killing with just 3 allowed goals on 36 shorthanded situations (91.67%).

Kärpät have the 10th-worst power play in the tournament with 6 goals on 43 chances (13.95%). Their penalty killing has been showing up a better quality though; 82.76% (5 allowed goals on 29 PK’s), which is enough for the 15th best penalty killing.

In the first game between the teams, Frölunda were 1-for-2 on the PP while Kärpät didn’t take advantage of either of their two.

Player statistics

Frölunda players occupy the top four spots in overall CHL point scoring – Andreas Johnsson with 24 points (11 goals + 13 assists), Mathis Olimb with 24 (7+17), Erik Gustafsson with 17 (5+12) and Max Görtz with 14 (6+8). Johnson is the top goal scorer in the tournament and Gustafsson is by far the highest scoring defenceman with seven points more than the second-best.

The Cramo Top Scorer of Kärpät Oulu, Joonas Donskoi, is ranked eighth in the points column with 11 (7+4). With no points in the first game, Donskoi now has company as Joonas Kemppainen has joined him with 11 points (2+9) with his assist in Game 1. Tied with Donskoi with a team-high 10 goals in the Finnish Liiga, Mika Pyörälä has had a hard time producing in the CHL. With just two goals and no assists in 11 games, the Finnish club expects more from the former Frölunda player.

Looking ahead

Since Game 1, both teams have played two games and have collected two wins – Frölunda by beating both Skellefteå and Linköping 3–2 on the road, Kärpät by beating Lukko on the road and TPS Turku on home ice (both 2–1 in overtime).

Kärpät have nine straight wins on home ice, outscoring their oppoinents 30–13, and just have four losses in 24 home games – just one after regulation. That’s an impressive stat that indicates they still have a good chance of advancing to the CHL Final.

Frölunda had a terrible stretch of late with just three wins in 13 games before the first battle between the teams. During that period they lost seven games in a row on the road. However, they managed to win 11 of of their first 14 road games and now, with two straight wins away from home, they seem to have put that slump behind them.

It will definitely be an interesting second game between these teams and we’ll probably see a desperate Kärpät that will fight until their last drop of sweat. With the talented roster they have, a two-goal lead certainly isn’t insurmountable.