Read below for information on the Semi-Final series between Frolunda Gothenburg and Fribourg-Gotteron. Frolunda won on aggregate 9-1 to advance to the Final. 

Preview

At first glance, Frolunda Gothenburg and Friboug-Gotteron appear to be polar opposites. Frolunda are a perennial powerhouse in Sweden, have advanced to the CHL Final in each of the past two years, won both the CHL and SHL titles last season and are comfortably leading the Swedish league standings so far this season. Fribourg, on the other hand, have never won a national title, are last place in the NLA standings at the moment, and are in the CHL Semi-Finals for the first time. In fact, this is the first time they've been among the last eight teams in any European championship.

But their records in the CHL are quite similar – they'd have to be to have reached this far. Both won their respective groups and both have combined timely offence with stingy defence. The CHL scoring race is topped by four players with 12 points each – Casey Wellman and Joel Lundqvist of Frolunda and Roman Cervenka and Yannick Rathgeb of Fribourg. The overall offensive production of the teams was similar before Frolunda went on a real scoring spree the last couple of rounds. Defensively, Fribourg have allowed 15 goals and Frolunda 16 in 10 games each. 

There's no doubt that Frolunda enter this Semi-Final as huge favourites. However, we've seen many unexpected results so far this CHL season, and Fribourg are anxious to prove the nay-sayers wrong. 

Closer look: Frolunda Gothenburg

(7-0-1-2, 22 points, 37:16)

Frolunda Gothenburg didn't start their CHL title defence so strongly. They 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.

In the Round of 32, they lost 3-2 in Minsk, and followed that up with a big 5-0 win at home to take the aggregate victory, and signal that the giant had awoken. They've had little trouble with either CHL opponent since then, winning four straight games all by at least three goals. First they humbled Eisbaren Berlin in the Round of 16, winning 10-2 on aggregate. Up next was SHL rivals Linkoping HC, with Frolunda prevailing 9-2 over two games. The Indians are now in the CHL Semi-Finals for their third straight year, and seem to be in top form as they seek a third straight trip to the Final. 

Read more about Frolunda's "Road to the Final Four" here

Casey

Wellman

6+6, +5

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: By regularly scoring points in KHL, AHL and NHL, Casey Wellman is a well-scouted recruitment by the Gothenburg-based club. With 12 points, Wellman is one of four players at the top of the CHL scoring and with 6 goals he is the league's Cramo Top Scorer. Of course, Wellman joins a crop of Frolunda forwards that know what this tournament is all about, such as Mats Rosseli-Olsen, Johan Sundstrom and captain Joel Lundqvist, who have been to the CHL Final in back-to-back years, and surely have their sights set on a third trip.  

Henrik

Tommernes

1+6, +8

 

Top Defenceman: Henrik Tommernes was one of the best defencemen in last season's Swedish Hockey League, finishing fifth among d-men in the league scoring league and leading all defencemen in points in the CHL. Tommernes scored 9 goals on the power play in the SHL, which was second in the whole league. This season, he's once again leading SHL defencemen and is tied for the team lead with Sundstrom with 27 points so far. He started slowly in the CHL win no points in the group stage, but now has 7 in six playoff games. Jacob Larsson, John Nyberg and new recruit Jonathan Sigalet are other players to watch on the back end.

Johan

Gustafsson

90.84 %

 

Top Goaltender: Johan Gustafsson came to Frolunda before last season and had a really tough start, quite quickly being recognized as a backup to Lars Johansson, who was having a career year. Gustafsson would get his chance to shine as Johansson was injuried in the playoffs, and Gustafsson took advantage of that chance. He turned out to be a huge reason why Frolunda managed to win the SHL title. Now, he's the clear starting goalie on Sweden's top team. Backup Dan Bakala has also played well when given the chance, so the Indians are confident in whoever they have between the pipes right now.    

Click here for team statistics

Closer look: Fribourg-Gotteron

(6-0-3-1, 21 points, 29:15)

Despite their inconsistent play domestically, Fribourg started strong in the CHL and have maintained that pace the whole way. They started Group F with two home games and scored a pair of three-goal wins, first shutting out Red Bull Munich 3-0 and then beating Orli Znojmo 5-2. After winning in Znojmo 3-1, they lost their final game by the same score in Munich; however, that result assured them top spot in the group.

Like all Swiss teams, Fribourg looked very strong in the group stage and that continued in the Round of 32, where they earned a draw in Kosice, then won at home by 3 goals to advance. They got a tougher test in the Round of 16 against KalPa Kuopio from Finland, and there wasn't much to choose from the teams. After tying both games, it was decided in overtime by defenceman Yannick Rathgeb. They opened the Quarter-Finals with a big 5-2 win in Ostrava, thanks to big performances from Roman Cervenka and Julien Sprunger. They followed that up with a 3-2 win at home to secure their first-ever berth in the Semi-Finals.

Read more about Fribourg's "Road to the Final Four" here

Roman

Cervenka

5+7, +9

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Roman Cervenka joined Fribourg-Gotteron in the summer of 2016. The Czech forward has easily found his role within the Swiss club and scored right from the beginning – as he did before in other leagues he has played in. The 30-year-old centre has played previously in the NHL and KHL, and has represented the Czech Republic numerous times, including two Olympics and the recently completed World Cup of Hockey. He is scoring at over a point per game in the NLA; however, his World Cup duty caused him to miss six games, so he trails Julien Sprunger in team scoring domestically. The pair are dynamite together on Fribourg's top line, with Cervenka the set-up man and Sprunger the sniper.

Yannick

Rathgeb

4+8, +12

 

Top Defenceman: Even though he is still very young, Yannick Rathgeb made a big impression to the fans and the coaches during his first complete NLA season in 2015-16. The 20-year-old Swiss rearguard was even invited for the Prospect Camp of the Chicago Blackhawks this summer. In this year's CHL campaign and in the early part of the NLA season, Rathgeb has shown himself to be solid defensively with the ability to contribute offensively as well. He is tied for the lead in points not only on Fribourg, but in the whole CHL, and leads al defencemen in scoring. He scored the overtime goal against KalPa in the Round of 16 to send them through to the Quarter-Finals.  

Benjamin

Conz

94.72%

 

Top Goaltender: In front of the Fribourg net, Benjamin Conz has been a steady presence this season. He has played in the vast majority of NLA games and, despite the team's defensive struggles, his statistics are much better than backup Dennis Saikkonen's. In the CHL, he's played in eight of the team's 10 games so far and allowed only 13 goals against, for an impressive average of 1.62. The low number of goals against is one of the main reasons Fribourg are still in the competition and he will now have his work cut out for him against an offensively dangerous Frolunda squad.

Click here for team statistics