2008–09 Champions Hockey League

2008–09 Champions Hockey League
League	Champions Hockey League
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)

The 2008–09 Champions Hockey League was the inaugural season of the Champions Hockey League, an IIHF organized ice hockey league for the best club teams in Europe. This first edition 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).

Every participating team was guaranteed an appearance fee of 300,000 euros and the winner received 1,000,000 euros. Prize money was also be awarded for winning group stage matches (50,000 euros), for the semi-final appearance (200,000 euros) and for the other finalist (500,000 euros). In total, 10 million euros were distributed, the largest prize sum ever in a European hockey club competition.

The ZSC Lions from Switzerland won the competition by beating Russia's Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the final.

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.

Directly qualified for group stage

	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	Magnitogorsk, Russia	2008 IIHF European Champions Cup winner
	Salavat Yulaev Ufa	Ufa, Russia	Russian Super League champion
	Kärpät Oulu	Oulu, Finland	Finnish SM-liiga champion
	Espoo Blues	Espoo, Finland	Finnish SM-liiga playoff finalist
	HC Slavia Praha	Prague, Czech Republic	Czech Extraliga champion
	HC České Budějovice	České Budějovice, Czech Republic	Czech Extraliga regular-season winner
	HV71	Jönköping, Sweden	Swedish Elitserien champion
	Linköpings HC	Linköping, Sweden	Swedish Elitserien regular-season runner-up
	HC Slovan Bratislava	Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovak Extraliga champion
	ZSC Lions	Zurich, Switzerland	Swiss National League A champion
	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

	HC Košice	Košice, Slovakia	Slovak Extraliga regular-season runner-up
	SC Bern	Berne, Switzerland	Swiss National League A regular-season winner
	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.

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.

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 Central European Time

Sinupret Ice Tigers

1 – 4 ( 0–0, 1–1, 0–3 )

SC Bern

Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg Attendance: 7,658

Game reference
	A. Savage (ES) 35:52		30:07 (PP) R. Abid 41:13 (ES) P. Bärtschi 50:52 (ES) S. Gamache 59:41 (EN) S. Bordeleau

September 13, 2008 18:30 Central European Time

SC Bern

5 – 4 ( 2–0, 2–3, 1–1 )

HC Košice

Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg Attendance: 1,859

Game reference
	L. Goren (PP) 06:59 C. Dubé (PP) 10:49 P. Bärtschi (ES) 28:23 R. Abid (ES) 35:17 R. Abid (PP) 52:03		26:38 (PP) J. Faith 27:09 (ES) M. Simurda 28:43 (ES) M. Simurda 44:26 (ES) J. Faith

September 14, 2008 18:30 Central European Time

HC Košice

3 – 5 ( 0–2, 2–2, 1–1 )

Sinupret Ice Tigers

Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg Attendance: 3,373

Game reference
	J. Kmit (PP) 24:27 M. Miklik (ES) 28:22 J. Sykora (ES) 50:19		01:31 (PP) B. Leeb 15:30 (PP) M. Periard 24:46 (ES) B. Leeb 34:56 (PP) C. Laflamme 48:03 (PP) P. Fical

Group stage

The draw for the group stage took place on Friday, 25 April 2008 in Zurich, Switzerland. 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 Central European Time

Eisbären Berlin

3 – 2 ( 1–1, 1–0, 1–1 )

Kärpät

O2 World, Berlin Attendance: 13,000

Game reference
	T. Mulock (ES) 01:35 A. Rankel (ES) 20:52 D. Pederson (ES) 40:34		04:33 (PP) I. Mikkola 47:45 (ES) T. Koivisto

October 22, 2008 20:30 Eastern European Time

Kärpät

0 – 2 ( 0–0, 0–1, 0–1 )

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu Attendance: 6,614

Game reference
			34:30 (PP) J. Marek 43:46 (PP) V. Atyushov

October 29, 2008 20:00 Yekaterinburg Time

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

5 – 2 ( 4–0, 0–1, 1–1 )

Eisbären Berlin

Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,701

Game reference

November 12, 2008 20:30 Eastern European Time

Kärpät

2 – 3 (PS) ( 1–0, 0–1, 1–1, 0–1 )

Eisbären Berlin

Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu Attendance: 4,619

Game reference

November 19, 2008 20:00 Yekaterinburg Time

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

3 – 1 ( 0–0, 2–0, 1–1 )

Kärpät

Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,593

Game reference

December 3, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

Eisbären Berlin

2 – 1 ( 1–0, 1–1, 0–0 )

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

O2 World, Berlin Attendance: 13,500

Game reference

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 Central European Time

HV71

6 – 2 ( 1–0, 2–0, 3–2 )

SC Bern

Kinnarps Arena, Jönköping Attendance: 6,903

Game reference
	T. Laine (PP) 18:29 T. Laine (ES) 20:20 M. Tedenby (ES) 22:31 M. Thornberg (PP) 44:22 J. Lindstrom (ES) 44:36 B. Melin (ES) 51:38		48:36 (PP) S. Bordeleau 55:41 (ES) C. Dube

October 22, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

SC Bern

1 – 3 ( 0–2, 0–0, 1–1 )

Espoo Blues

PostFinance Arena, Berne Attendance: 6,756

Game reference
	S. Gamache (ES) 53:55		03:19 (ES) T. Kähkönen 19:39 (PP) E. Rajamäki 59:55 (EN) J. Uhlbäck

October 29, 2008 20:30 Eastern European Time

Espoo Blues

3 – 2 ( 2–1, 0–0, 1–1 )

HV71

LänsiAuto Areena, Espoo Attendance: 6,083

Game reference

November 12, 2008 19:30 CET

SC Bern

7 – 5 ( 1–3, 3–0, 3–2 )

HV71

PostFinance Arena, Berne Attendance: 7,057

Game reference

November 19, 2008 20:30 Eastern European Time

Espoo Blues

2 – 1 ( 2–1, 0–0, 0–0 )

SC Bern

LänsiAuto Areena, Espoo Attendance: 6,247

Game reference

December 3, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

HV71

0 – 6 ( 0–3, 0–1, 0–2 )

Espoo Blues

Kinnarps Arena, Jönköping Attendance: 5,028

Game reference

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 Yekaterinburg Time

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

7 – 1 ( 1–0, 3–0, 3–1 )

HC České Budějovice

Ufa Arena, Ufa Attendance: 7,835

Game reference
	K. Koltsov (PP) 11:19 R. Nurtdinov (ES) 21:15 A. Perezhogin (ES) 34:06 I. Grigorenko (ES) 39:11 L. Cermak (PP) 43:17 A. Perezhogin (SH) 45:57 K. Koltsov (ES) 55:37		45:19 (ES) T. Kurka

October 22, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

HC České Budějovice

5 – 2 ( 1–0, 2–1, 2–1 )

HC Slovan Bratislava

Budvar Arena, České Budějovice Attendance: 4,250

Game reference
	M. Hudec (ES) 01:17 P. Gregorek (PP) 22:52 I. Huml (SH) 29:49 O. Vesely (ES) 40:28 R. Horak (ES) 46:47		24:08 (ES) L. Vaic 50:28 (ES) R. Kukumberg

October 29, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

HC Slovan Bratislava

2 – 4 ( 1–0, 1–3, 0–1 )

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Samsung Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 5,238

Game reference
	M. Lazo (ES) 06:54 R. Liscak (ES) 23:01		20:50 (ES) I. Shadilov 30:09 (PP) V. Vorobyev 39:11 (ES) A. Radulov 48:15 (ES) K. Koltsov

November 12, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

HC České Budějovice

0 – 3 ( 0–2, 0–1, 0–0 )

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Budvar Arena, České Budějovice Attendance: 4,109

Game reference

November 19, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

HC Slovan Bratislava

5 – 3 ( 3–0, 0–0, 2–3 )

HC České Budějovice

Samsung Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 4,880

Game reference

December 3, 2008 20:00 Yekaterinburg Time

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

8 – 2 ( 1–1, 4–1, 3–0 )

HC Slovan Bratislava

Ufa Arena, Ufa Attendance: 8,292

Game reference

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 Central European Time

HC Slavia Praha

4 – 2 ( 2–1, 1–1, 1–0 )

Linköpings HC

O2 Arena, Prague Attendance: 4,108

Game reference
	M. Vondrka (ES) 15:26 R. Cervenka (PP) 17:24 R. Cervenka (PP) 38:26 J. Bednar (ES) 49:19		08:31 (ES) J. Fransson 36:30 (ES) P. Petterstrom

October 22, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

Linköpings HC

2 – 7 ( 2–2, 0–2, 0–3 )

ZSC Lions

Cloetta Center, Linköping Attendance: 7,961

Game reference
	M. Ylven (ES) 02:32 J. Eriksson (ES) 18:59		06:47 (ES) S. Blindenbacher 17:53 (PP) T. Monnet 26:59 (ES) P. Sejna 38:24 (ES) P. Sejna 42:42 (ES) C. Buhler 47:30 (ES) T. Monnet 57:51 (PP) D. Pittis

October 29, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

ZSC Lions

4 – 5 (PS) ( 0–1, 1–1, 3–2, 0–1 )

HC Slavia Praha

Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 8,220

Game reference

November 12, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

Linköpings HC

4 – 5 ( 0–2, 3–1, 1–2 )

HC Slavia Praha

Cloetta Center, Linköping Attendance: 6,842

Game reference

November 19, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

ZSC Lions

4 – 3 ( 1–1, 2–1, 1–1 )

Linköpings HC

Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 8,574

Game reference

December 3, 2008 19:30 Central European Time

HC Slavia Praha

1 – 5 ( 0–1, 1–0, 0–4 )

ZSC Lions

O2 Arena, Prague Attendance: 8,137

Game reference

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 Yekaterinburg Time

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

1 – 2 ( 0–0, 0–2, 1–0 )

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,750

Game reference

7 January 2009 20:00 Yekaterinburg Time

Salavat Yulaev Ufa

1 – 3 ( 0–0, 1–0, 0–3 )

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Ufa Arena, Ufa Attendance: 8,500

Game reference

Second Semi-final

Because the Hallenstadion in Zurich, 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.

10 December 2008 19:30 Central European Time

ZSC Lions

6 – 3 ( 1–0, 3–2, 2–1 )

Espoo Blues

Diners Club Arena, Rapperswil-Jona Attendance: 6,100

Game reference

7 January 2009 20:30 EET

Espoo Blues

1 – 4 ( 0–2, 1–0, 0–2 )

ZSC Lions

LänsiAuto Areena, Espoo Attendance: 6,612

Game reference

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 Zurich. Thus, 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 clubs history.

The ZSC Lions became the first-ever Swiss team to win a major European club competition by winning the Champions Hockey League in its inaugural season. 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.

21 January 2009 21:30 Yekaterinburg Time

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

2 – 2 ( 0–2, 0–0, 2–0 )

ZSC Lions

Magnitogorsk Arena, Magnitogorsk Attendance: 7,700

Game reference
	Atyushov (51:01) Rolinek (59:17)		Trudel (9:14) Wichser (12:05)

28 January 2009 19:30 Central European Time

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 leaders Player G A Pts Jean-Guy Trudel (ZSC) 4 9 13 Adrian Wichser (ZSC) 1 12 13 Domenic Pittis (ZSC) 1 10 11 Peter Sejna (ZSC) 5 5 10 Jan Marek (Metallurg) 3 7 10 G - goals, A - assists, Pts - points

Goalkeepers: Save percentage Statistics: Goalkeepers (SVS%}} Player GA SVS SVS% Alexandr Eremenko (Ufa) 7 138 95.2% Ilya Proskuryakov (Metallurg) 15 218 93.6% Ari Sulander (ZSC) 17 224 93.0% Bernd Brückler (Espoo) 10 126 92.7% Rob Zepp (Berlin) 10 87 89.7% GA - goals against, SVS - saves, SVS% - save percentage Only goalkeepers with at least 40% of their team's total minutes

External links

• Google Maps - participating teams