2022–23 Champions Hockey League

2022–23 Champions Hockey League

Tournament details
Dates	1 September 2022 – 18 February 2023
Teams	32
Final positions
Champions	Tappara (1st title)
Runner-up	Luleå HF
Tournament statistics
Games played	125
Attendance	355,153 (2,841 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Ryan Lasch (22 points)
MVP	Christian Heljanko

The 2022–23 Champions Hockey League was the eighth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. The tournament is competed by 32 teams, with qualification being on sporting merits only. The six founding leagues will be represented by between three and five teams (based on a four-year league ranking), while seven "challenge leagues" will be to be represented by one team each.

Finnish team Tappara won their first Champions Hockey League title, defeating Swedish team Luleå HF 3–2 in the final. This made Tappara the second Finnish side to win the title. The title holders Rögle BK were defeated by Tappara in the quarterfinals with the total score 7–4.

American right winger Ryan Lasch from Swedish team Frölunda HC became the top scorer for the fifth time, scoring 22 points.

Team allocation

A total of 32 teams from different European first-tier leagues will participate in the 2022–23 Champions Hockey League. Besides the Continental Cup champions and wild card invitee Olimpija Ljubljana, 24 teams from the six founding leagues, as well as the national champions from Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will participate. Belarusian teams were not invited to participate due to the current political situation in Belarus while a Ukrainian team HC Donbass was forced to withdraw from the competition due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and was replaced with the Slovenian champions Olimpija Ljubljana.

The qualification criteria for national leagues is based on the following rules:

1. CHL champions
2. National league champions (play-off winners)
3. Regular season winners
4. Regular season runners-up
5. Regular season third-placed team
6. Regular season fourth-placed team
7. Regular season fifth-placed team

Note: the national league champions of the United Kingdom are determined following the regular season.

Teams

On 12 January 2022 it was decided that the 2021–22 season would not be accounted for in the league ranking and the status at the end of the 2019–20 season was taken into consideration to allocate places for the season.

Team	City/Area	League	Qualification	Participation	Previous best
Rögle BK	Ängelholm	Swedish Hockey League	2022 CHL winners	2nd	Champion
Färjestad BK	Karlstad	Swedish Hockey League	Play-off winners	5th	Round of 16
Luleå HF	Luleå	Swedish Hockey League	Regular season runners-up	5th	Champion
Skellefteå AIK	Skellefteå	Swedish Hockey League	Regular season third	7th	Semi-finals
Frölunda HC	Gothenburg	Swedish Hockey League	Regular season fourth	8th	Champion
EV Zug	Zug	National League	Play-off winners	8th	Quarter-finals
HC Fribourg-Gottéron	Fribourg	National League	Regular season runners-up	5th	Semi-finals
ZSC Lions	Zürich	National League	Regular season third	7th	Quarter-finals
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	Rapperswil	National League	Regular season fourth	1st	First appearance
HC Davos	Davos	National League	Regular season fifth	4th	Semi-finals
Eisbären Berlin	Berlin	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Play-off winners	6th	Round of 16
Red Bull München	Munich	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Regular season runners-up	7th	Final
Grizzlys Wolfsburg	Wolfsburg	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Regular season third	3rd	Round of 32
Straubing Tigers	Straubing	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Regular season fourth	1st	First appearance
Tappara	Tampere	Liiga	Play-off winners	8th	Final
Jukurit	Mikkeli	Liiga	Regular season runners-up	1st	First appearance
Ilves	Tampere	Liiga	Regular season third	1st	First appearance
TPS	Turku	Liiga	Regular season fourth	7th	Quarter-finals
Oceláři Třinec	Třinec	Czech Extraliga	Play-off winners	7th	Semi-finals
Mountfield HK	Hradec Králové	Czech Extraliga	Regular season winners	4th	Final
Sparta Praha	Prague	Czech Extraliga	Regular season third	5th	Final
Red Bull Salzburg	Salzburg	ICE Hockey League	Play-off winners	7th	Semi-finals
Villach SV	Villach	ICE Hockey League	Regular season runners-up	2nd	Group stage
Fehérvár AV19	Székesfehérvár	ICE Hockey League	Regular season third	1st	First appearance
Belfast Giants	Belfast	Elite Ice Hockey League	Regular season champions	2nd	Group stage
Brûleurs de Loups	Grenoble	Ligue Magnus	Play-off winners	3rd	Group stage
Slovan Bratislava	Bratislava	Tipos Extraliga	Play-off winners	2nd	Group stage
Stavanger Oilers	Stavanger	Fjordkraftligaen	Play-off winners	5th	Round of 32
GKS Katowice	Katowice	Polska Hokej Liga	Play-off winners	1st	First appearance
Aalborg Pirates	Aalborg	Metal Ligaen	Play-off winners	2nd	Group stage
MKS Cracovia	Kraków	Polska Hokej Liga	Continental Cup winner	3rd	Group stage
Olimpija Ljubljana	Ljubljana	Slovenian Ice Hockey League	Wild card	1st	First appearance

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1	25 May 2022	1–2 September 2022
	Matchday 2		3–4 September 2022
	Matchday 3		8–9 September 2022
	Matchday 4		10–11 September 2022
	Matchday 5		4–5 October 2022
	Matchday 6		11–12 October 2022
Playoff	Round of 16	13 October 2022	15–16 November 2022	22–23 November 2022
	Quarter-finals		6–7 December 2022	13 December 2022
	Semi-finals		10–11 January 2023	17–18 January 2023
	Final		18 February 2023

Group stage

For the group stage, the teams were drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each team will play home and away against every other team for a total of six games. The best two teams will qualify to the round of 16.

The draw of the group stage took place on 25 May 2022 in Tampere, Finland.

Pots

The participating teams were seeded into Pots 1 to 4 according to their achievements in their national leagues and their respective league’s standing in the CHL league ranking. The reigning CHL champions Rögle BK were the top seeded team and therefore given a place in pot 1. In the top pot there were also the reigning champions of the six founding leagues and the regular season winner of SHL. The 16 remaining teams from the founding leagues were placed to pots 2 and 3. The fourth pot included the playoff champions from the seven challenge leagues and MKS Cracovia, winners of 2021–22 IIHF Continental Cup.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Rögle BK Färjestad BK EV Zug Eisbären Berlin Tappara Oceláři Třinec Red Bull Salzburg Luleå HF	HC Fribourg-Gottéron Red Bull München Jukurit Mountfield HK Villach SV Skellefteå AIK ZSC Lions Grizzlys Wolfsburg	Ilves Sparta Praha Fehérvár AV19 Frölunda HC SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers Straubing Tigers TPS HC Davos	Belfast Giants Brûleurs de Loups Slovan Bratislava Stavanger Oilers GKS Katowice Aalborg Pirates Olimpija Ljubljana MKS Cracovia

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LHF	JUK	AAL	SPA
1	Luleå HF	6	5	1	0	0	22	11	+11	17	Advance to Playoffs		—	4–3	2–1 (OT)	5–2
2	Jukurit	6	4	0	0	2	22	15	+7	12			2–5	—	5–3	3–0
3	Aalborg Pirates	6	1	0	1	4	10	21	−11	4			1–3	0–3	—	2–6
4	Sparta Praha	6	1	0	0	5	15	22	−7	3			2–3	3–6	2–3	—

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EVZ	WOB	TPS	OLI
1	EV Zug	6	5	1	0	0	27	9	+18	17	Advance to Playoffs		—	4–3 (OT)	6–1	5–2
2	Grizzlys Wolfsburg	6	4	0	1	1	25	16	+9	13			2–5	—	5–4	7–2
3	TPS	6	2	0	0	4	13	23	−10	6			0–4	1–4	—	3–2
4	Olimpija Ljubljana	6	0	0	0	6	9	26	−17	0			1–3	0–4	2–4	—

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TAP	RBM	RAP	SLV
1	Tappara	6	4	1	1	0	20	9	+11	15	Advance to Playoffs		—	4–0	2–3 (OT)	2–0
2	Red Bull München	6	3	1	1	1	21	15	+6	12			3–4 (SO)	—	5–4 (OT)	5–1
3	SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	6	2	1	1	2	19	19	0	9			1–3	1–4	—	4–1
4	Slovan Bratislava	6	0	0	0	6	9	26	−17	0			2–5	1–4	4–6	—

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RBK	ZSC	FEH	KAT
1	Rögle BK	6	5	1	0	0	26	12	+14	17	Advance to Playoffs		—	3–2 (OT)	7–1	5–1
2	ZSC Lions	6	3	0	2	1	23	12	+11	11			3–4	—	5–1	5–1
3	Fehérvár AV19	6	2	0	0	4	9	23	−14	6			1–2	1–7	—	1–0
4	GKS Katowice	6	0	1	0	5	10	21	−11	2			4–5	2–1 (OT)	2–4	—

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		FRI	RBS	OIL	ILV
1	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	6	4	1	0	1	12	5	+7	14	Advance to Playoffs		—	3–2 (SO)	0–1	3–2
2	Red Bull Salzburg	6	0	3	2	1	12	12	0	8			0–1	—	3–2 (OT)	2–3 (OT)
3	Stavanger Oilers	6	2	0	2	2	10	15	−5	8			0–3	2–3 (SO)	—	4–2
4	Ilves	6	1	1	1	3	12	14	−2	6			0–2	1–2 (OT)	4–1	—

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		STR	FBK	CRA	VSV
1	Straubing Tigers	6	5	0	0	1	24	11	+13	15	Advance to Playoffs		—	5–2	3–2	8–0
2	Färjestad BK	6	4	0	0	2	25	12	+13	12			6–1	—	5–1	7–0
3	MKS Cracovia	6	2	0	0	4	13	23	−10	6			0–4	4–3	—	4–2
4	Villach SV	6	1	0	0	5	10	26	−16	3			1–3	1–2	6–2	—

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MHK	FHC	BER	GRE
1	Mountfield HK	6	5	0	0	1	29	17	+12	15	Advance to Playoffs		—	5–3	8–2	3–2
2	Frölunda HC	6	5	0	0	1	34	16	+18	15			4–2	—	7–1	7–4
3	Eisbären Berlin	6	2	0	0	4	21	29	−8	6			3–7	2–3	—	5–2
4	Brûleurs de Loups	6	0	0	0	6	15	37	−22	0			3–4	2–10	2–8	—

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SKE	HCD	TRI	BEL
1	Skellefteå AIK	6	4	1	0	1	23	14	+9	14	Advance to Playoffs		—	2–3	3–2 (OT)	4–1
2	HC Davos	6	4	0	0	2	23	15	+8	12			2–5	—	4–0	5–1
3	Oceláři Třinec	6	2	0	2	2	16	18	−2	8			4–5	4–3	—	4–0
4	Belfast Giants	6	0	1	0	5	10	25	−15	2			2–4	3–6	3–2 (OT)	—

Group stage tie-breaking criteria

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win in regulation time, 2 poins for a win in overtime, 1 point for a loss in overtime, 0 points for a loss in regulation time). If two or more teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (see 8.4.4. Tie breaking formula group stage standings):

1. Points in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
4. The higher number of goals in one of the matches among the tied teams;
5. The most goals in the two game winning shot series;
6. If more than two teams are tied, head-to-head criteria 1, 2 and 3 are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
7. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying head-to-head criteria 1, 2 and 3, a subset of teams are still tied, goal difference and goals scored then the results between each of the three teams and the closest best-ranked team outside the subset was applied; best-ranked team outside the sub-group was applied;
8. The higher position in the 2021–22 Champions Hockey League club ranking;
9. Goal difference in all group matches;
10. Goals scored in all group matches;
11. Regulation time wins in all group matches;
12. Overtime wins in all group matches;
13. Overtime losses in all group matches.

Playoffs

Qualified teams

The knockout phase involves the 16 teams which qualify as winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage.

Group	Winners (seeded in round of 16 draw)	Runners-up (unseeded in round of 16 draw)
A	Luleå HF	Jukurit
B	EV Zug	Grizzlys Wolfsburg
C	Tappara	Red Bull München
D	Rögle BK	ZSC Lions
E	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	Red Bull Salzburg
F	Straubing Tigers	Färjestad BK
G	Mountfield HK	Frölunda HC
H	Skellefteå AIK	HC Davos

Format

In each round except the final, the teams play two games and the aggregate score decides which team advances. As a rule, the first leg is hosted by the team who has the inferior record in the tournament with the second leg being played on the home ice of the other team. If aggregate score is tied, a sudden death overtime follows. If the overtime is scoreless, the team who wins the shoot out competition advances.

The final will be played on the home ice of the team who has the better record in the tournament.

Bracket

The eight group winners and the eight second-placed teams advanced to the round of 16. The teams were divided into two seeding groups and group winners were randomly drawn against runners-up. Teams who had faced each other in the group stage could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16.

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

1

Färjestad BK

16

Mountfield HK (OT)

Mountfield HK

EV Zug (OT)

8

Red Bull München

9

EV Zug

EV Zug

Tappara

5

Red Bull Salzburg

12

Rögle BK

Rögle BK

Tappara

4

HC Davos

13

Tappara

Tappara

3

Luleå HF

2

6

Jukurit (OT)

11

HC Fribourg-Gottéron

Jukurit

Luleå HF

3

Grizzlys Wolfsburg

14

Luleå HF

Luleå HF (SO)

Frölunda HC

7

Skellefteå AIK

10

ZSC Lions

Skellefteå AIK

Frölunda HC (SO)

2

Frölunda HC

15

Straubing Tigers

Round of 16

The draw for the entire playoff was held on 13 October 2022 in Zürich. The first legs were played on 15 and 16 November with return legs played on 22 and 23 November 2022.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Färjestad BK	6–7 (OT)	Mountfield HK	4–3	2–4
Red Bull München	2–10	EV Zug	1–5	1–5
Red Bull Salzburg	4–6	Rögle BK	3–1	1–5
HC Davos	2–3	Tappara	0–1	2–2
Jukurit	3–2 (OT)	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	1–1	2–1
Grizzlys Wolfsburg	3–5	Luleå HF	2–3	1–2
Skellefteå AIK	9–5	ZSC Lions	5–4	4–1
Frölunda HC	7–2	Straubing Tigers	4–0	3–2

Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Quarter-finals

First legs were played on 6 and 7 December with return legs played on 13 December 2022.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Mountfield HK	3–4 (OT)	EV Zug	2–2	1–2
Rögle BK	4–7	Tappara	3–2	1–5
Luleå HF	8–2	Jukurit	5–1	3–1
Skellefteå AIK	3–4 (SO)	Frölunda HC	1–0	2–4

Semi-finals

First legs were played on 10 January with return legs played on 17 January 2023.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Tappara	5–2	EV Zug	2–0	3–2
Frölunda HC	5–6 (SO)	Luleå HF	2–2	3–4

Final

18 February 2023 16:20 (UTC+1)

Luleå HF

2–3 (0–2, 0–0, 2–1)

Tappara

Coop Norrbotten Arena, Luleå Attendance: 6,150

Game reference
	Matteus Ward	Goalies	Christian Heljanko	Referees: Miroslav Štolc André Schrader
	Gustafsson (Fröberg, Connolly) (PP) – 52:04 / Tyrväinen (Shinnimin, Connolly) – 57:50	0–1 / 0–2 / 0–3 / 1–3 / 2–3	01:42 – Tanus (Matushkin, Levtchi) (PP) / 07:06 – Ojamäki (Thomas, Ikonen) / 41:00 – Lehterä (Tanus, Savinainen)
	10 min	Penalties	20 min
	36	Shots	20

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players are leading the league in points.

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/–	GWG	PPG	SHG	SOG	S%
Lasch, RyanRyan Lasch	Frölunda HC	11	7	15	22	4	+8	1	0	0	27	25.93%
O'Neill, BrianBrian O'Neill	EV Zug	12	6	11	17	8	+12	3	1	0	23	26.09%
Tyrväinen, JuhaniJuhani Tyrväinen	Luleå HF	11	5	9	14	+4	9	1	1	0	20	25.00%
Ojamäki, NikoNiko Ojamäki	Tappara	13	8	5	13	2	+10	2	3	0	35	22.86%
Hugg, RickardRickard Hugg	Skellefteå AIK	9	7	5	12	2	+7	0	0	0	17	41.18%
Friberg, MaxMax Friberg	Frölunda HC	12	5	7	12	2	+3	1	3	1	30	16.67%
Lehterä, JoriJori Lehterä	Tappara	13	3	9	12	6	+5	2	0	1	20	15.00%
Boychuk, ZachZach Boychuk	Eisbären Berlin	6	8	3	11	6	+4	0	1	0	17	47.06%
Corvi, EnzoEnzo Corvi	HC Davos	8	5	6	11	6	+5	1	0	1	14	35.71%
Lindholm, MaxMax Lindholm	Skellefteå AIK	10	2	9	11	4	+1	0	1	0	17	11.76%

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders are leading the league in save percentage, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes.

Player	Team	GP	W	L	SV	GA	SV%	GAA	SO	MIN
Hughes, ConnorConnor Hughes	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	6	2	2	115	4	96.64%	0.80	2	300
Heljanko, ChristianChristian Heljanko	Tappara	12	9	2	312	16	95.12%	1.33	4	724
Strahlmeier, DustinDustin Strahlmeier	Grizzlys Wolfsburg	5	2	3	165	11	93.75%	2.22	0	297
Holm, HenrikHenrik Holm	Stavanger Oilers	6	2	4	189	13	93.56%	2.14	1	364
Söderström, LinusLinus Söderström	Skellefteå AIK	4	3	1	105	8	92.92%	1.92	1	250

Awards

MVP

The winner of the LGT MVP Award was announced on 18 February 2023.

Player	Team
Christian Heljanko	Tappara

Team of the Season

The Team of the Season was announced on 23 February 2023.

Position	Player	Team
Goaltender	Christian Heljanko	Tappara
Defenceman	Julius Honka	Luleå HF
Defenceman	Valtteri Kemiläinen	Tappara
Forward	Brian O'Neill	EV Zug
Forward	Juhani Tyrväinen	Tappara
Forward	Ryan Lasch	Frölunda HC