CHL

This past week saw Luleå have success away from the SHL, despite having to play against another SHL team.

The previous years of the CHL have been dominated by SHL teams, with Rögle winning it last year, Frölunda winning it in 2020,19,17 and 16 and Luleå winning it back in 2015. In fact the only non SHL team to ever win the tournament in its current form is JYP from Finland in 2018.

Luleå had to face off against Frölunda this past week for their chance to advance to the CHL finals for the second time. Despite Frölundas past success in the tournament Luleå was the favorite coming into the semi finals. They had led the way in their group stage winning five of their six games in regulation and one in overtime. They defeated German club Wolfsburg Grizzly's in the round of sixteen, had no trouble with Finnish side Jukurit in the quarterfinals, and their matchup against Frölunda was a nail biter to the very end.

For anyone who may be unfamiliar with the CHL, the playoff rounds are done in two games, with the aggragate score of the games determining the winner. Game one between Frölunda and Luleå ended in a 2-2 draw, setting up a decisive game two in Luleå this past Tuesday. Just like game one it was a tight contest right to the finish. However it was the second period that proved to be the most exciting as the teams exchanged five goals in the frame and Luleå would come away with the 3-2 lead heading into the third period.

Less than three minutes into the final frame of regulation, Frölunda was able to tie the game at three. Despite opportunities throughout the third for both teams, neither was able to break the deadlock before the final buzzer sounded. Overtime would not determine a winner and so a shootout was needed. It's no surprise that, just like the games in this series, the shootout was a close contest. All in all the shootout would need a staggering sixteen shooters with each team scoring twice until Brendan Shinnimin stepped up. With a beautiful move that fooled Lars Johansson, Shinnimin buried the puck and sent Luleå to the CHL final for just the second time in history. They will face off against Tappara Tampere on February 18th in a one game final in Luleå.

Off Ice News

HockeyAllsvenskan Tranfers

It was a very quiet week in off ice news with just three minor stories to report on.

Skellefteå has sent Simon Robertsson down to Västerås. It has been an uncertain season so far for the 19 year old forward who was a third round pick by St Louis in 2021. He made 16 appearences with Skellefteå, scoring 5 goals and adding a pair of assists. He also played a single game in HockeyEttan this season with Piteå. Ultimately, the decision to loan him out came down to the fact that Skellefteå has a bit of a log jam when it comes to forwards at the moment.

– Right now we have many forwards in the squad, so we have decided to loan Simon to Västerås so that he will have the opportunity for more ice time. Should injuries occur later in the season, we have the opportunity to bring him home again, says General Manager Erik Forsell.

Örebro has also sent down one of their young prospects as Adam Hofbauer has been loaned to Almtuna after appearing in just 7 games for the big club this season. He has also spent time with Örebro's J20 team, playing in 11 games with the junior squad.

Westerlund

The only off ice move this week that involves a major transfer involves HV71 and Filip Westerlund. Westerlund, 23, has left the SHL and been loaned to Ilves in Finland. The 2nd round draft pick by Arizona in 2017 has spent his entire professional career so far in Sweden. He has played with Frölunda, HV71 and Timrå. It has been a bit of a tough season for Westerlund however, who has seen very limited ice time in his 18 games so far with HV71.

– We have tough competition on the blue line right now and Filip has had difficulty getting playing time. Therefore, we have now agreed with Filip and Ilves on a loan for the rest of the season, says General Manager Kent Norberg.