Read below for information on the quarter-final series between Skelleftea AIK and HC Davos. Davos won on aggregate 5–2 to advance to the semi-finals.

Preview

Reigning Swiss champions HC Davos made it through to the Round of 32 with a solid campaign in Group E, taking 10 of 12 possible points. They flew out of the blocks, winning their first two matches in Sweden and the Czech Republic. This left them needing just a single point from their remaining two games to ensure their route to the next round – they achieved this with a 1–0 overtime loss at home to Farjestad Karlstad, before closing out the group stage with a 5–3 win over HC Pardubice. The Round of 32 saw them lose a tight first leg 2–1 in Helsinki, but they then showed their strength at home by powering away to a 5–2 victory, that saw them progress 6–3 on aggregate. The next round produced a match-up against the upstarts from Liberec. The White Tigers, as they are known, allowed Davos to score early and often in both games, winning each opening period by 3–1. This would prove critical in the big picture as, even though Liberec outshot Davos by a massive 47 shots to 19 in the second tie, by the end of that first period, the aggregate score was already 8–4.

Skelleftea AIK were pitted against Bili Tygri Liberec and HK Nitra in the group stage, winning four out of four by a combined scored of 16–6. In the Round of 32, they progressed by shutting out HC Kosice 3–0 at home, after losing first leg 4–3 in Liberec. The Round of 16 saw a comfortable 5–2 win in Berlin set up an easier second leg back in the north of Sweden, which they won 2–1 on a late power-play goal in a very tight game. It was a game that they never looked like losing – they outshot Berlin 30–20 – but it was also one that they just couldn’t finish off as early as they might have hoped.

HC Davos are the Scandinavian party poopers in the Champions League this year.  Having already defeated Farjestad twice in the group stage, they then eliminated IFK Helsinki in the Round of 32, and are the only non-Finnish or -Swedish team in this season’s quarter-finals (Last year saw four Swedish and four Finnish teams reach the same stage).

Davos and Skelleftea are meeting for the first time in the Champions Hockey League, with the Swedes going in as very slight favourites. The Swedish outfit has pedigree in the CHL, losing at the semi-final stage in 2014–15 to eventual champions Lulea Hockey last time around. The first leg finds itself on Tuesday, 1 December at 19:45 CET in the magnificent Vaillant Arena in Davos, with the return seven days later, Tuesday, 8 December at the Skelleftea Kraft Arena in the northeast of Sweden, face-off at 19:00 CET.

Closer look: Skelleftea AIK

(6-1-0-1, 20 points, 29:13)

Skelleftea AIK finally got promoted back up in to the Elitserien (now SHL) in 2007, after a 16-year absence – but that is where their success story starts.

They made an immediate impact in the 2007–08 season, finishing in an impressive 8th spot and qualifying for the playoffs, where they lost to champions-elect HV71 Jonkoping in the first round. The following two seasons saw them go one better by reaching the semi-finals, losing both times to the eventual champions, Farjestad and HV71.

2010–11 and 2011–12 saw the beginnings on a dynasty being built, as Skelleftea twice made it to the finals, losing the first in five games, once again to Farjestad, and the second to Brynas Gavle in six. In 2012–13 and 2013–14 the club from the verge of Lapland rose to the very top, winning both the regular season and the playoffs. Amazingly, they swept both finals 4–0, and had an unthinkable playoff return of 24 wins and 3 defeats! Last season saw them once again blow the competitors away en-route to the league finals, winning the regular season by a huge 14 points, and dropping only 1 playoff game in their first 9.  They were, however, not able to three-peat, losing a great final series to the upstart Vaxjo Lakers. 

One third of the way into this 2015–16 season, and Skelleftea are where you would expect them to be, at the top end of the table, sitting in 2nd spot with 14 wins and just 4 defeats from their first 18 games.

In the CHL, this team has been efficient with their shooting, with an accuracy of 10.70 %, and HC Davos will have surely been warned by Coach Del Curto to not take any unnecessary penalties, as AIK will punish them – they’ve scored 10 goals on 36 opportunities for 27.78 %.

Janne

Pesonen

4+5, +4

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Janne Pesonen, from Suomussalmi in Finland, is a wily veteran who’s played in all of the world’s top leagues. He made his name in the SM-liiga, before an 82-point season in the AHL saw him called up to the NHL by Pittsburgh. He played only five games in “The Show” before he moved to Kazan in the KHL, where he spent five successful seasons before moving to Skelleftea halfway through last season. He took to the SHL quickly, tallying 26 points (16+10) in 20 games, plus a further 10 (4+6) in 15 playoff games. This season, his 15th as a professional, hasn’t seen him slow down at all, and Pesonen is 2nd on the team in scoring with 9+10 in 17 league matches – he is the current Cramo Top Scorer for Skelleftea with 9 points and they will be looking to him for strong leadership in this tricky quarter-final match-up. 

 

Tim

Heed

4+3, +1

 

Top Defenceman: The offensive-minded Tim Heed has a rocket of a shot from the point, which is especially an asset on the power play. Davos have taken more penalties than most teams in the tournament, so they will need to keep an eye on him at the point. Heed is a late-bloomer that had some tough years prior to last season, in which all the pieces finally fell into place and he dominated from the blueline. With a rocket-like wrister and a sensational game sense, he impressed all through the season and got rewarded with the best defenceman award in the SHL. Overall, the team's defensive corps is an interesting mix of young and upcoming stars together with older and more experienced  SHL veterans.

 

Markus

Svensson

96.70%

 

Goaltender: Markus Svensson continues to improve each season and, if this progress continues, it is highly likely that he will be one of the Swedish National Team goaltenders this season. He's split duties with Erik Hanses so far in the CHL, but Svensson's numbers are considerably better, with his 96.70 save percentage, 0.75 goals-against average and 2 shutouts making him among the CHL's top-ranked goalies statistics-wise this season. Svensson has also been the team's starting goalie in the SHL, boasting a 91.33 save % and 2.00 GAA in 15 games.

 

Click here for team statistics.

 

Closer look: HC Davos

(6-0-1-1, 19 points, 27:16)

History is a word you associate with HC Davos. The team which plays in the highest city in Europe, in county Graubunden, Switzerland, has won the Swiss championship a record 31 times, and are the current defending champions. They are also the hosts of the world-renowned Spengler Cup, which since 1923 is one of the world’s oldest annual professional sporting events.

Arno Del Curto IS HC Davos! The enigmatic leader from St Moritz is in his 20th season as coach of the club, and under his watch the team has won six championships and were runners up on three other occasions. His teams are known to play hard, fast, intelligent hockey, and many young players have developed into national stars while playing for him.

With the good times come also the bad, and Davos have also experienced low points, particularly in 1990, when they were relegated to the 1.Liga (3rd division), only a couple of seasons after back to back titles. They fought their way back up after a new beginning of sorts, and in 1992 were back where they belong in the National League A, but it would take them a decade until they could once again lift the championship trophy.

The last decade has been very successful in Davos, with titles coming in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Current NHL stars Jonas Hiller, Nino Niedereiter and Mark Streit all played their formative seasons for HC Davos, the former two being products of their junior system.      

Andres

Ambuehl

5+3, +6

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: 32-year-old Andres Ambuehl is one of Davos’ key players and also one of their most experienced. Ambuehl made his hometown club debut before he turned 18 years of age, and has since represented the Swiss national team over 200 times! His excellent skating and aggressive style see him getting in where it hurts, allowing to make clutch plays. Keep your eyes on number 10 in blue and yellow. Just a point below with 7 is Dario Simion – just just 21 years old, but a highly-rated talent in Swiss Hockey, Simion has already broken through into the national team after over 80 appearances at all age levels within the Swiss junior system. 

 

Beat

Forster

0+1, +4

 

Top Defenceman: Big Beat Forster has been a fixture in Swiss hockey since he broke into the Davos team as an 18-year-old in 2001. A veteran of almost 100 games for the Swiss national team, you can rely on Forster for a hard-hitting no-nonsense style at the back, plus leadership – he likes to make opponents pay with big hits and a big shot from the point. Although his point production has dropped off a little in the last couple of seasons, his skating ability and hockey sense mean that he can still be relied on for an important play which could prove crucial in the knockout stages. 

 

Leondardo

Genoni

94.47%

 

Top Goaltender: Leonardo Genoni is another one of the standout Swiss goalies that have come to the fore in recent years. He took over the number-one spot in 2007–08 after Jonas Hiller left for the NHL, and has not given up the starting spot since. Only three goals on 109 shots against in four group games was a statement. He has now conceded just 13 goals on 235 shots, for a save percentage of 94.47, while playing more minutes and facing more shots than any other goalie in the tournament. Goaltending is always key in tight games, and Genoni proved his worth in the last round by turning away an amazing 44 of 47 shots.

Click here for team statistics.