2008–09 Champions Hockey League
| 2008–09 Champions Hockey League | |
|---|---|
| League | Champions Hockey League (2008–09) |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 8 October 2008 – 28 January 2009 |
| Number of teams | 14 (12 in group stage) |
| Season MVP |
 Ari Sulander (ZSC) |
| Top scorer |
 Jean-Guy Trudel (ZSC) |
| Finals | |
| Champions |
 ZSC Lions |
| Runners-up |
 Metallurg Magnitogorsk |
The 2008–09 Champions Hockey League was the only season of the Champions Hockey League (2008–09), an IIHF-organized ice hockey tournament for the best club teams in Europe. The season was played with 12 teams from seven countries (two teams each from Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland, one team each from Switzerland, Germany and Slovakia and a 12th team from one of these three countries, determined in a qualification tournament).[1] Every participating team was guaranteed an appearance fee of 300,000 euro and the winner received 1,000,000 euro. Prize money was also be awarded for winning group stage matches (50,000 euro), for the semi-final appearance (200,000 euro) and for the other finalist (500,000 euro). In total, 10 million euros were distributed, the largest prize sum ever in a European hockey club competition. [2] The ZSC Lions from Switzerland won the competition by beating Russia's Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the finals.
In December 2013, the IIHF officially announced that they had launched a new tournament with the same name, born out of the European Trophy, starting in the 2014–15 season.[3]
Participating teams
The 2008–09 edition of the Champions Hockey League is played with twelve teams from Europe's top seven hockey leagues. Ten teams qualified directly for the group stage due to their performances in the domestic leagues. The field was completed with the winner of last season's Champions Cup and one team from the qualifying tournament. The tables below lists these teams together with the reasons for qualifying.[4]
Directly qualified for group stage
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Metallurg Magnitogorsk | Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia | 2008 IIHF European Champions Cup winner |
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Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia | Russian Super League champion |
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Kärpät | Oulu, Finland | Finnish SM-liiga champion |
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Espoo Blues | Espoo, Finland | Finnish SM-liiga playoff finalist |
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HC Slavia Praha | Prague, Czech Republic | Czech Extraliga champion |
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HC České Budějovice | České Budějovice, Czech Republic | Czech Extraliga regular-season winner |
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HV71 | Jönköping, Sweden | Swedish Elitserien champion |
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Linköpings HC | Linköping, Sweden | Swedish Elitserien regular-season runner-up |
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HC Slovan Bratislava | Bratislava, Slovakia | Slovak Extraliga champion |
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ZSC Lions | Zürich, Switzerland | Swiss National League A champion |
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Eisbären Berlin | Berlin, Germany | Deutsche Eishockey Liga champion |
Note: Because the Swedish regular-season winner (HV71) also won the play-offs, Linköpings HC as the runner-up of the regular-season will participate.
Participating in qualifying tournament
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HC Košice | Košice, Slovakia | Slovak Extraliga regular-season runner-up |
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SC Bern | Berne, Switzerland | Swiss National League A regular-season winner |
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Sinupret Ice Tigers | Nuremberg, Germany | Deutsche Eishockey Liga regular-season winner |
Note: Because the Slovak regular-season winner (Slovan Bratislava) also won the play-offs, HC Košice as the runner-up of the regular-season can participate in the qualifying tournament.
Qualifying tournament
Three teams played a qualifying tournament on 12–14 September in Nuremberg, Germany. A win was awarded 3 points, 0 points for a loss.[5] SC Bern won the tournament and qualified as the second team from Switzerland for the group stage of the Champions Hockey League. Bern's Ramzi Abid was the top scorer of the tournament with 3 goals and 1 assist. The matches were attended by an average of 3,426 spectators.[6]
| Team | GP | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC Bern |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
| Sinupret Ice Tigers |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| HC Košice |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| September 12, 2008 19:30 CET | Sinupret Ice Tigers | 1 – 4 ( 0–0, 1–1, 0–3 ) | SC Bern | Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg Attendance: 7,658 |
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| September 13, 2008 18:30 CET | SC Bern | 5 – 4 ( 2–0, 2–3, 1–1 ) | HC Košice | Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg Attendance: 1,859 |
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| September 14, 2008 18:30 CET | HC Košice | 3 – 5 ( 0–2, 2–2, 1–1 ) | Sinupret Ice Tigers | Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg Attendance: 3,373 |
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Group stage
The draw for the group stage took place on Friday, 25 April 2008 in Zürich, Switzerland.[7] The twelve teams were drawn into groups of three. Each group played a double round-robin. If the games were decided after 60 minutes, the winner was awarded 3 points and the loser 0 points. In case of a tie, both teams got 1 point and a penalty shoot-out was staged with the winner being awarded a second point. The best team of each group – the two Russian teams Ufa and Magnitogorsk, Espoo from Finland and the ZSC Lions from Switzerland – advanced to the semi-finals.
Group A
Eisbären Berlin played their two home games at the new O2 World in Berlin in front of 13,000 and 13,500 spectators, respectively, a Champions Hockey League record. Magnitogorsk qualified for the semi-finals on gameday 5 after winning their first three games. Metallurg's Jan Marek was the top scorer in group A with 2 goals and 5 assists.
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metallurg Magnitogorsk |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 9 |
| Eisbären Berlin |
4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| Kärpät |
4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
| October 8, 2008 19:30 CET | Eisbären Berlin | 3 – 2 ( 1–1, 1–0, 1–1 ) | Kärpät | O2 World, Berlin Attendance: 13,000 |
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| October 22, 2008 20:30 EET | Kärpät | 0 – 2 ( 0–0, 0–1, 0–1 ) | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu Attendance: 6,614 |
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| October 29, 2008 20:00 YEKT | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 5 – 2 ( 4–0, 0–1, 1–1 ) | Eisbären Berlin | Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,701 |
| November 12, 2008 20:30 EET | Kärpät | 2 – 3 (GWS) ( 1–0, 0–1, 1–1, 0–1 ) | Eisbären Berlin | Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu Attendance: 4,619 |
| November 19, 2008 20:00 YEKT | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 3 – 1 ( 0–0, 2–0, 1–1 ) | Kärpät | Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,593 |
| December 3, 2008 19:30 CET | Eisbären Berlin | 2 – 1 ( 1–0, 1–1, 0–0 ) | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | O2 World, Berlin Attendance: 13,500 |
Group B
Espoo won all 4 of their games and qualified for the semi-final after gameday 5. The top scorer in group B was Bern's Christian Dubé with 5 goals (and 0 assists).
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espoo Blues |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 12 |
| HV71 |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 18 | 3 |
| SC Bern |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 3 |
| October 8, 2008 19:30 CET | HV71 | 6 – 2 ( 1–0, 2–0, 3–2 ) | SC Bern | Kinnarps Arena, Jönköping Attendance: 6,903 |
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| October 22, 2008 19:30 CET | SC Bern | 1 – 3 ( 0–2, 0–0, 1–1 ) | Espoo Blues | PostFinance Arena, Berne Attendance: 6,756 |
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| October 29, 2008 20:30 EET | Espoo Blues | 3 – 2 ( 2–1, 0–0, 1–1 ) | HV71 | LänsiAuto Areena, Espoo Attendance: 6,083 |
| November 12, 2008 19:30 CET | SC Bern | 7 – 5 ( 1–3, 3–0, 3–2 ) | HV71 | PostFinance Arena, Berne Attendance: 7,057 |
| November 19, 2008 20:30 EET | Espoo Blues | 2 – 1 ( 2–1, 0–0, 0–0 ) | SC Bern | LänsiAuto Areena, Espoo Attendance: 6,247 |
| December 3, 2008 19:30 CET | HV71 | 0 – 6 ( 0–3, 0–1, 0–2 ) | Espoo Blues | Kinnarps Arena, Jönköping Attendance: 5,028 |
Group C
Salavat Yulaev was the first team of the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League to qualify for the semi-finals after winning their first three games. The top scorer in group C was Ufa's Alexander Radulov with 1 goal and 4 assists.
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salavat Yulaev Ufa |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 12 |
| HC České Budějovice |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 3 |
| HC Slovan Bratislava |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 3 |
| October 8, 2008 20:00 YEKT | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 7 – 1 ( 1–0, 3–0, 3–1 ) | HC České Budějovice | Ufa Arena, Ufa Attendance: 7,835 |
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| October 22, 2008 19:30 CET | HC České Budějovice | 5 – 2 ( 1–0, 2–1, 2–1 ) | HC Slovan Bratislava | Budvar Arena, České Budějovice Attendance: 4,250 |
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| October 29, 2008 19:30 CET | HC Slovan Bratislava | 2 – 4 ( 1–0, 1–3, 0–1 ) | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Samsung Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 5,238 |
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| November 12, 2008 19:30 CET | HC České Budějovice | 0 – 3 ( 0–2, 0–1, 0–0 ) | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Budvar Arena, České Budějovice Attendance: 4,109 |
| November 19, 2008 19:30 CET | HC Slovan Bratislava | 5 – 3 ( 3–0, 0–0, 2–3 ) | HC České Budějovice | Samsung Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 4,880 |
| December 3, 2008 20:00 YEKT | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 8 – 2 ( 1–1, 4–1, 3–0 ) | HC Slovan Bratislava | Ufa Arena, Ufa Attendance: 8,292 |
Group D
The winner of group D was not decided until the final game in Prague between Slavia and the ZSC Lions. In front of 8,137 spectators, the Lions won the game 5–1 after scoring 4 goals in the last period. The group's top scorer (and the leading scorer after all group stage games) was Adrian Wichser from ZSC with 9 assists (and 0 goals).
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZSC Lions |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 10 |
| HC Slavia Praha |
4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 8 |
| Linköpings HC |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 0 |
| October 8, 2008 19:30 CET | HC Slavia Praha | 4 – 2 ( 2–1, 1–1, 1–0 ) | Linköpings HC | O2 Arena, Prague Attendance: 4,108 |
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| October 22, 2008 19:30 CET | Linköpings HC | 2 – 7 ( 2–2, 0–2, 0–3 ) | ZSC Lions | Cloetta Center, Linköping Attendance: 7,961 |
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| October 29, 2008 19:30 CET | ZSC Lions | 4 – 5 (GWS) ( 0–1, 1–1, 3–2, 0–1 ) | HC Slavia Praha | Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 8,220 |
| November 12, 2008 19:30 CET | Linköpings HC | 4 – 5 ( 0–2, 3–1, 1–2 ) | HC Slavia Praha | Cloetta Center, Linköping Attendance: 6,842 |
| November 19, 2008 19:30 CET | ZSC Lions | 4 – 3 ( 1–1, 2–1, 1–1 ) | Linköpings HC | Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 8,574 |
| December 3, 2008 19:30 CET | HC Slavia Praha | 1 – 5 ( 0–1, 1–0, 0–4 ) | ZSC Lions | O2 Arena, Prague Attendance: 8,137 |
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were played as two-legged matches. If a game was tied after 60 minutes, it would have been counted as a tie, without a penalty shoot-out taking place. Only if after two games the teams were level on points (i.e. one win each or two ties), a penalty shoot-out was staged to determine the series winner Home ice advantage of the second game went to the teams with the better records in the group stage.
First Semi-final
Because both teams from Russia qualified for the semi-finals, they had to play against each other according to the tournament regulations. Salavat Yulaev won the first game in Magnitogorsk with goaltender Alexandr Eremenko stopping 36 shots. The second game in Ufa, however, was won by Metallurg. Therefore, a penalty shoot-out was staged to determine the series winner, which was won 2–0 by Magnitogorsk.
| 10 December 2008 20:00 YEKT | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 1 – 2 ( 0–0, 0–2, 1–0 ) | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,750 |
| 7 January 2009 20:00 YEKT | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 1 – 3 (0 – 2 GWS) ( 0–0, 1–0, 0–3 ) | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | Ufa Arena, Ufa Attendance: 8,500 |
Second Semi-final
Because the Hallenstadion in Zürich, the home arena of the ZSC Lions, was not available on the semi-final dates, the Lions were forced to play their home game at the Diners Club Arena in Rapperswil-Jona, about 25 km away from Zurich. The ZSC Lions won both their "home" game and the game in Espoo, where they were accompanied by about 600 fans from Switzerland.[8]
| 10 December 2008 19:30 CET | ZSC Lions | 6 – 3 ( 1–0, 3–2, 2–1 ) | Espoo Blues | Diners Club Arena, Rapperswil-Jona Attendance: 6,100 |
| 7 January 2009 20:30 EET | Espoo Blues | 1 – 4 ( 0–2, 1–0, 0–2 ) | ZSC Lions | LänsiAuto Areena, Espoo Attendance: 6,612 |
Finals
The final was also played as a two-legged match. Home ice advantage of the second game went to the ZSC Lions which had the better record in the group stage. As in the semi-finals, the Lions were forced to play their home game in Rapperswil in an arena with only half the capacity of the Hallenstadion in Zürich. The game in the Diners Club Arena was sold out within 30 minutes, leaving many fans without a ticket for the most important game in their club's history.[9]
The ZSC Lions became the first-ever Swiss team to win a major European club competition by winning the Champions Hockey League. After a 2–2 in Magnitogorsk, the ZSC Lions won the return game against Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5–0 to dethrone the 2008 European club champion. ZSC goaltender Ari Sulander was named Champions Hockey League MVP and was the first to hoist the Silver Stone Trophy.[10]
| 21 January 2009 21:30 YEKT | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 2 – 2 ( 0–2, 0–0, 2–0 ) | ZSC Lions | Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,700 |
| Game reference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 28 January 2009 19:30 CET | ZSC Lions | 5 – 0 ( 1–0, 1–0, 3–0 ) | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | Diners Club Arena, Rapperswil Attendance: 6,200 |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions Hockey League 2008–09 Winners |
|---|
|
| ZSC Lions First Title |
Statistics
Scoring leadersList shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. If the list exceeds 5 skaters because of a tie in points, all of the tied skaters are shown.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Source: IIHF.com
Leading goaltendersOnly the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.
TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com
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References
- ↑ "Three teams to compete for 12th CHL spot". Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ "Europe's new Club Competition". Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ↑ New era dawns for Europe
- ↑ "Playoffs in Europe's Top-7 Leagues". Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ↑ "Champions Hockey League Qualification". Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ↑ "Champions Hockey League Qualification: Statistics". Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ↑ "Champions Hockey League groups drawn". Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ↑ "Swiss Invasion?". Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ↑ "ZSC game sold out within minutes". Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ↑ "ZSC Lions win CHL!". Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.