Read below for more information on the Round of 32 series between Skelleftea AIK and HC Kosice. Skelleftea won 6–4 on aggregate to advance to the Round of 16.

Game 1

Skelleftea entered this series as heavy favourites and, after they took a 2–0 lead in the 23rd minute, seemed to have things firmly under control. But just 1:32 after Patrick Zackrisson's power-play goal, Marek Bartanus answered with a power-play marker of his own to bring Kosice within one. Kosice then out-scored Skelleftea 3–1 over the final 10 minutes to actually give themselves a 1-goal lead after their home half. Skelleftea are very strong at home so this series is far from over, but Kosice's late comeback sure makes things interesting heading into Game 2.

“We played a really good game,” said Kosice coach Peter Oremus. “We didn't have good first period, but we improved in the second and third. We were playing a really good team, so I'm glad that we were able to win it. We will fight to get to the next round of the CHL.”

Skelleftea coach Hans Wallson commented, “My team had a good start, however, we didn't keep it all game and let Kosice get back into it. The score is 4–3 for Kosice, but we're going to do everything we can to get into the next round.”

GAME HIGHLIGHTS | LIVE BLOG & STATS

Preview

Skelleftea AIK against HC Kosice pits two teams that have dominated their domestic leagues over the past several years. Skelleftea have appeared in the SHL finals five straight seasons, winning two titles in that time, and finished atop the regular season standings in the last three. Kosice, meanwhile, have won five Slovak championships in the last seven years, including the last two years running. However, the Swedish Hockey League is ranked quite a bit stronger than the Slovak Liga, and as such Skelleftea enter the series as heavy favourites. In last season's Champions Hockey League, Skelleftea went all the way to the semi-finals before losing out to their regional rivals from Lulea. Kosice also competed in the CHL last season, but failed to advance out of their group, which makes this their first experience in the competition's knockout stage.

Closer look: Skelleftea AIK

(3-1-0-0, 11 points, 16:6, 1st in Group D)

Recognized as one of Europe's top clubs, Skelleftea aren't happy with coming up short in both the CHL and SHL last season – falling to Lulea in the CHL semi-finals and the Vaxjo Lakers in the domestic finals. They meant business in the group stage, dropping only one point – a home shootout win over HK Nitra – in their Group D win. Their two games against Nitra were tight games, combined with two wins over Bili Tygri Liberec by a total score of 9–2. Heading into the first game with Kosice they've played two games in the SHL and split them – opening with a 3–2 win over HV71 Jonkoping, followed by a 2–1 loss to Djurgarden in Stockholm. 

Janne

Pesonen

2+3, +2

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Janne Pesonen has an impressive array of offensive tools but the thing that stands out most is his ability to create scoring chances from something that doesn't even look like a chance. Together with Patrik Zackrisson and Andrew Calof, they are a big threat every shift they get. The return of Jimmie Ericsson to the lineup also gives Skelleftea the opportunity to put together one of the absolute best power-play units in SHL and CHL. This unit has already impressed with some highlight-reel goals.

 

Tim

Heed

2+1, even

 

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. 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

96.77%

 

Goaltender: Currently ranked as sixth-best netminder in the CHL and with an impressive 96.77 save percentage, 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 split duties in the group stage with Erik Hanses, and it remains to be seen if that trend continues into the CHL knock-out stage.

 

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: HC Kosice

(1-1-0-2, 5 points, 7:8, 2nd in Group H)

Kosice finished as runners-up in Group H behind Red Bull Munich, noting two wins over KAC Klagenfurt to secure their place in the last 32. It wasn't entirely simple, as they needed a shootout to finish off their EBEL opponents in the home game, but those two points were enough to see them through in their last group stage game. Somewhat surprising is Kosice's poor start to their domestic campaign, with just 2 points to show for their first five games. Those two points come from an overtime victory over HK Nitra, who ran Skelleftea close in both of their CHL meetings. A home-ice win over one of Europe's top clubs before what's expected to be a large and boisterous crowd could help reverse their fortunes.

Jiri

Bicek

5+1, +2

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: With 6 points, 36-year-old Jiri Bicek is ranked 10th in points in the CHL after the group stage. More importantly, Bicek's timely scoring is one of the reasons Kosice are still alive in the competition. In the decisive game against Klagenfurt, Bicek opened the scoring and also scored the shootout-winner. Bicek played on Kosice´s second line, which has been the most dangerous one and one that Skelleftea should be wary of. Linemates Marek Bartanus and Jakub Suja have 4 points each. In all, the trio combined for 6 of the 7 goals that Kosice scored during the group stage.

 

Martin

Strbak

0+0, -1

 

Top Defenceman: A legendary player not only in Kosice, but in all of Slovakia, Martin Strbak has played 162 games for the national team, and has three medails from the World Championships. At age 40, he is still the leader on the blueline of the Slovak champs. He is also the team captain and the team has benefited in the CHL from his experience. At the other end of the age scale, there's talented young defenceman Eduard Sedivy, who has a great shot from the point. 

 

Dominik

Riecicky

95.74%

 

Top Goaltender: There's a complicated goaltending situation in Slovak Hockeytown. Marcel Melichercik was in net for the first three games, then he injured in Klagenfurt and probably be ready for Game 1 vs Skelleftea. Dominik Riecicky was forced to play in a key game vs Klagenfurt and the 23-year-old showed great poise, stopping all four shots he faced in the shootout of the last group game. To fill in the void there's also Tomas Halasz, who was acquired recently. There's a chance either Riecicky or Halasz could get the start in Game 1. 

 

Click here for team statistics.