2019–20 Champions Hockey League

The 2019–20 Champions Hockey League is the sixth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. 32 teams are competing in the tournament, and qualification was on sporting merits only. The six founding leagues are represented by between three and five teams (based on a three-year league ranking), while seven "challenge leagues" are represented by one team each. One place was awarded to the champion of the 2018–19 Champions Hockey League as well as a wild card spot selected by the board. Unlike in the first three editions of the tournament, founding teams did not automatically qualify.[3]

2019–20 Champions Hockey League
Tournament details
Dates29 August 2019 – 4 February 2020
Teams32
Final positions
Champions  Frölunda HC (4th title)
Runner-up  Mountfield HK
Third place  Djurgårdens IF
Luleå HF
Tournament statistics
Matches played125
Goals scored683 (5.46 per match)
Attendance430,750 (3,446 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Ryan Lasch (Frölunda HC)[1]
(22 points)
MVP Ryan Lasch (Frölunda HC)[2]

Swedish team Frölunda HC successfully defended their Champions Hockey League title, defeating Czech team Mountfield HK 3–1 in the final to win the European Trophy for a fourth time.[4] For the first time in the history of the league, the final was held in the Czech Republic as Mountfield HK earned the right to host the game at ČPP Arena.[5]

Team allocation

A total of 32 teams from 13 different European first-tier leagues are participating in the 2019–20 Champions Hockey League. There were 24 teams from the six founding leagues, as well as the national champions from Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, France, Belarus, Great Britain and Poland qualified. Out of the founding leagues Sweden and Switzerland were allocated 5 teams, Finland and Czech Republic 4 with Austria and Germany given 3. Because no league was allowed more than five teams, the winner of the 2018–19 Champions Hockey League won a berth but at the expense of a place for their league.

Due to the fact that Arlan Kokshetau of the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship were ineligible to qualify for the Champions Hockey League despite winning the 2018–19 Continental Cup, it was announced that the board would select a Wild Card team in its place.[6] On 13 February, the Champions Hockey League announced that the Belfast Giants as Continental Cup runners-up had been approved to take part as the Wild Card entry.[7]

The qualification for these places was set out in the rules as follows:[8]

  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

For the Austrian Hockey League teams are however picked in this order:[8]

  1. League champions
  2. Regular season winners
  3. Pick Round winners
  4. Pick Round runners-up
  5. Losing playoff finalists

Note: Great Britain is the lone exception as the EIHL, in line with their traditions, determine their national champion following the regular season (not in the playoffs).[9]

Teams

Team City/Area League Qualification Participation Previous Best
Frölunda HC Gothenburg Swedish Hockey League 2019 CHL winner 6th Champion
Färjestad BK Karlstad Swedish Hockey League Regular season winner 4th Round of 32
Luleå HF Luleå Swedish Hockey League Regular season runner-up 4th Champion
Djurgårdens IF Stockholm Swedish Hockey League Regular season fourth 5th Round of 16
Skellefteå AIK Skellefteå Swedish Hockey League Regular season fifth 5th Semi-finals
SC Bern Bern National League Play-off champion 6th Quarter-finals
EV Zug Zug National League Regular season runner-up 6th Round of 16
Lausanne HC Lausanne National League Regular season third 1st First appearance
EHC Biel Biel/Bienne National League Regular season fourth 1st First appearance
HC Ambrì-Piotta Ambrì National League Regular season fifth 1st First appearance
HPK Hämeenlinna SM-liiga Play-off champion 1st First appearance
Kärpät Oulu SM-liiga Regular season winner 5th Final
Tappara Tampere SM-liiga Regular season runner-up 6th Round of 16
Pelicans Lahti SM-liiga Regular season third 1st First appearance
Oceláři Třinec Třinec Czech Extraliga Play-off champion 5th Semi-finals
Bílí Tygři Liberec Liberec Czech Extraliga Regular season winner 5th Semi-finals
HC Plzeň Plzeň Czech Extraliga Regular season third 3rd Semi-finals
Mountfield HK Hradec Králové Czech Extraliga Regular season fourth 3rd Group stage
Adler Mannheim Mannheim Deutsche Eishockey Liga Play-off champion 5th Round of 16
Red Bull München Munich Deutsche Eishockey Liga Regular season runner-up 5th Final
Augsburger Panther Augsburg Deutsche Eishockey Liga Regular season third 1st First appearance
EC KAC Klagenfurt Austrian Hockey League Play-off champion 3rd Group stage
Graz 99ers Graz Austrian Hockey League Regular season first round winner 1st First appearance
Vienna Capitals Vienna Austrian Hockey League Regular season pick round winner 6th Round of 16
Belfast Giants Belfast Elite Ice Hockey League Continental Cup Wild Card 1st First appearance
Yunost Minsk Minsk Belarusian Extraleague Play-off champion 3rd Round of 32
Frisk Asker Asker GET-ligaen Play-off champion 1st First appearance
HC '05 Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica Tipsport Liga Play-off champion 3rd Group stage
Brûleurs de Loups Grenoble Ligue Magnus Play-off champion 2nd Group stage
Rungsted Ishockey Rungsted Metal Ligaen Play-off champion 1st First appearance
Cardiff Devils Cardiff Elite Ice Hockey League Regular season runner-up 3rd Group stage
GKS Tychy Tychy Polska Hokej Liga Play-off champion 2nd Group stage

Group stage

Teams in the 2019–20 Champions Hockey League
Black: Group A; Purple: Group B; Blue: Group C; Red: Group D; Orange: Group E; Green: Group F; White: Group G; Yellow: Group H.

For the group stage, the teams will be drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each team will play home and away against every other team for a total of 6 games. The best 2 teams qualify to the round of 16.

Pots

The reigning CHL champions is the top seeded team and therefore given a place in pot 1. In the top pot there will also be the reigning champions of the six founding leagues and the regular season winner of SHL. The 16 remaining teams from the founding leagues will be placed to pots 2 and 3. The fourth pot include the playoff champions from the seven challenge leagues and the Belfast Giants, the wild card team following the 2018–19 IIHF Continental Cup.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Frölunda HC
Färjestad BK
SC Bern
HPK
Oceláři Třinec
Adler Mannheim
EC KAC
Luleå HF

EV Zug
Kärpät
Bílí Tygři Liberec
Red Bull München
Graz 99ers
Djurgårdens IF
Lausanne HC
Tappara

HC Plzeň
Augsburger Panther
Vienna Capitals
Skellefteå AIK
EHC Biel
Pelicans
Mountfield HK
HC Ambrì-Piotta

Yunost Minsk
Frisk Asker
HC '05 Banská Bystrica
Brûleurs de Loups
Rungsted Ishockey
Cardiff Devils
GKS Tychy
Belfast Giants

Group A

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BIE TAP KAC FAS
1 EHC Biel 6 5 0 0 1 16 9 +7 15 Advance to Playoffs 1–0 4–2 2–1
2 Tappara 6 4 0 0 2 21 11 +10 12 1–0 8–3 7–3
3 EC KAC 6 3 0 0 3 18 20 2 9 3–6 3–2 3–0
4 Frisk Asker 6 0 0 0 6 7 22 15 0 2–3 1–3 0–4

Group B

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EVZ PLZ HPK RUN
1 EV Zug 6 4 0 2 0 22 11 +11 14 Advance to Playoffs 5–2 3–4 (SO) 5–2
2 HC Plzeň 6 2 3 0 1 24 16 +8 12 2–1 (SO) 5–4 (OT) 9–3
3 HPK 6 1 1 2 2 13 16 3 7 1–3 1–2 (OT) 2–0
4 Rungsted Ishockey 6 1 0 0 5 10 26 16 3 0–5 2–4 3–1

Group C

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LHF AUG LIB BEL
1 Luleå HF 6 3 2 1 0 26 15 +11 14 Advance to Playoffs 2–3 (SO) 4–1 4–0
2 Augsburger Panther 6 2 2 2 0 18 15 +3 12 4–5 (OT) 2–3 (SO) 3–1
3 Bílí Tygři Liberec 6 1 1 1 3 20 20 0 6 4–5 (OT) 2–3 6–1
4 Belfast Giants 6 1 0 1 4 12 26 14 4 3–6 2–3 (OT) 5–4

Group D

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LAU YUN TRI PEL
1 Lausanne HC 6 2 2 2 0 20 17 +3 12 Advance to Playoffs 3–2 5–3 4–3 (SO)
2 Yunost Minsk 6 2 1 1 2 15 17 2 9 3–2 (OT) 2–0 2–3 (SO)
3 Oceláři Třinec 6 2 1 0 3 17 14 +3 8 2–1 (OT) 7–2 5–3
4 Pelicans 6 1 1 2 2 16 20 4 7 4–5 (SO) 2–4 1–0

Group E

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SKE SCB KAR BdL
1 Skellefteå AIK 6 2 2 1 1 19 14 +5 11 Advance to Playoffs 3–2 (SO) 2–0 1–2
2 SC Bern 6 2 1 3 0 17 14 +3 11 4–5 (SO) 1–2 (SO) 4–1
3 Kärpät 6 2 2 1 1 18 13 +5 11 5–4 (SO) 2–3 (OT) 3–1
4 Brûleurs de Loups 6 1 0 0 5 8 21 13 3 1–4 1–3 2–6

Group F

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAN DIF VIC GKS
1 Adler Mannheim 6 4 1 0 1 23 10 +13 14 Advance to Playoffs 2–1 4–0 5–0
2 Djurgårdens IF 6 4 0 0 2 20 14 +6 12 6–3 3–6 2–0
3 Vienna Capitals 6 2 0 0 4 15 21 6 6 1–6 1–2 5–2
4 GKS Tychy 6 1 0 1 4 10 23 13 4 2–3 (OT) 2–6 4–2

Group G

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RBM FBK AMB BAB
1 Red Bull München 6 3 1 1 1 14 9 +5 12 Advance to Playoffs 2–1 3–0 3–0
2 Färjestad BK 6 3 1 0 2 17 10 +7 11 3–1 2–1 6–1
3 HC Ambrì-Piotta 6 3 0 1 2 13 12 +1 10 2–3 (SO) 2–1 4–3
4 HC '05 Banská Bystrica 6 0 1 1 4 10 23 13 3 3–2 (SO) 3–4 (OT) 0–4

Group H

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FHC MHK CAR GRA
1 Frölunda HC 6 4 0 1 1 34 17 +17 13 Advance to Playoffs 2–3 9–2 5–6 (SO)
2 Mountfield HK 6 4 0 0 2 22 13 +9 12 3–4 5–2 7–1
3 Cardiff Devils 6 2 1 0 3 18 30 12 8 2–9 3–2 4–3 (SO)
4 Graz 99ers 6 0 1 1 4 14 28 14 3 1–5 1–2 2–5

Group stage tie-breaking criteria

If two teams were tied in points after the group stage is finished, the teams precedence is decided by head-to-head games. If the teams are still tied after that, then the team that was ranked higher prior to the tournament will take precedence. When comparing head-to-head results, the following criteria will be applied:[9]

  1. more points in games against the other tied team
  2. better goal difference in games against the other tied team
  3. more goals scored against the other tied team
  4. more goals scored in a single game against the other tied team
  5. overtime wins against the other tied team
  6. more goals scored in the two game winning shot competitions
  7. higher position in the 2016–17 CHL club ranking

Playoffs

Qualified teams

Group Winners (seed) Runners-up
A EHC Biel Tappara
B EV Zug HC Plzeň
C Luleå HF Augsburger Panther
D Lausanne HC Yunost Minsk
E Skellefteå AIK SC Bern
F Adler Mannheim Djurgårdens IF
G Red Bull München Färjestad BK
H Frölunda HC Mountfield HK

Format

In each round except the final, the teams will play two games and the aggregate score will decide which team advances. As a rule, the first leg will be 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 will follow. 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 8 group winners and the 8 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 couldn't be drawn against each other in the round of 16.[8] The draw took place in Helsinki, Finland on 18 October 2019.[10]

  Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
                                         
  Djurgårdens IF 3 4 7  
  Skellefteå AIK 3 1 4  
    Djurgårdens IF 5 3 8  
    Red Bull München 1 0 1  
  Yunost Minsk 2 0 2
  Red Bull München 3 6 9  
    Djurgårdens IF 1 0 1  
    Mountfield HK 3 3 6  
  Tappara 3 1 4  
  EV Zug 3 3 6  
    EV Zug 1 0 1
    Mountfield HK 1 4 5  
  Mountfield HK 1 1 2
  Adler Mannheim 0 1 1  
    Mountfield HK 1
    Frölunda HC 3
  Augsburger Panther 2 1 3  
  EHC Biel (OT) 2 2 4  
    EHC Biel 3 3 6
   ' Frölunda HC (OT) 2 5 7  
  Färjestad BK 6 2 8
  Frölunda HC 3 8 11  
    Frölunda HC 2 3 5
    Luleå HF 3 1 4  
  SC Bern 0 2 2  
  Luleå HF 3 4 7  
    Luleå HF 2 5 7
    Lausanne HC 1 2 3  
  HC Plzeň 1 4 5
  Lausanne HC (OT) 2 4 6  

Note:

  1. The teams listed on top of each tie were runners up in the group stage and play the first leg at home. The bottom team were group winners and play the second leg at home. Skellefteå AIK, however, would play their first leg at home in their tie against Djurgårdens IF.
  2. The order of the legs (which team starts at home) in the future rounds may be changed as the team with the best record should have the second game at home.

Final

4 February 2020
18:45 (UTC+1)
Mountfield HK 1–3
(1–3, 0–0, 0–0)
Frölunda HCČPP Arena, Hradec Králové
Attendance: 6,890

Statistics

References

  1. "LGT Top Scorer:Ryan Lasch". Champions Hockey League. championshockeyleague.com.
  2. "LGT Most Valuable Player:Ryan Lasch". Champions Hockey League. championshockeyleague.com.
  3. "New CHL format for 2017–18! 32 teams & on-ice qualification only". championshockeyleague.net. 2016-06-14. Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  4. "Fourth for Frölunda with victory over Mountfield HK". championshockeyleague.com.
  5. "First CHL Final in the Czech Republic: ČPP Arena". championshockeyleague.com.
  6. "CONTINENTAL CUP DOESN'T UNVEIL FIRST CHL QUALIFIER". championshockeyleague.com.
  7. "BELFAST GIANTS INVITED TO 2019/20 CHL". championshockeyleague.com.
  8. "Qualification criteria updated for 2019/20". championshockeyleague.com. 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  9. "The CHL Format". championshockeyleague.com. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  10. "Playoff draw in the books! The road to the final starts now!". championshockeyleague.com. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
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