- 7 different players record 1 point for Frölunda, Kindl scores for Pilsen
- Gustafsson 15 saves for Frölunda, Frodl 18 saves for Pilsen
- Frölunda win 9-4 on aggregate, return to CHL Final for 4th time in 5 years
After a year's absence, the Frölunda Indians are back in the Champions Hockey League Final for the fourth time in five years. They were in good shape following a 6-3 home-ice victory over HC Pilsen last week, and took no chances in the return game in the Czech Republic, winning 3-1 for a 9-4 victory on aggregate.
Pilsen’s only chance on their home ice was to chip away at the three-goal deficit over 60 minutes, and winning the first period was almost a must. Surrendering an early goal was exactly what they didn’t need, but it’s what they got on a brilliant individual effort from Ryan Lasch. The CHL’s all-time leading scorer picked up the puck at the blueline, circled the net and slid the puck inside the post at 3:12. Lasch now has 21 points this season, giving him a six-point lead over teammate Chay Genoway.
From there, Frölunda played a solid defensive game, with their commanding aggregate lead never threatened. The shots on goal in the first period were only 5-4, despite a Pilsen powerplay that failed to generate much. Pilsen were 0-for-4 in the first leg, and despite all their success in the CHL this season, their powerplay has only been 14.93% effective.
The game opened up a bit in the second period, with the energetic Pilsen crowd of 5,105 trying to get their team going. Both teams got chances, but Dominik Frodl and Johan Gustafsson both made some big saves to keep either side from scoring.
Pilsen were faced with the nearly impossible task of overcoming a four-goal deficit in the third period. Additionally, a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Petr Kodýtek in the last minute of the middle frame meant that they’d be shorthanded for the first 3:24 of that. In fact, it was less time than that, as Simon Hjalmarsson scored on the powerplay at 41:59. Then, just 42 seconds later, Joel Mustonen capitalized on a turnover in the Pilsen zone and made it 3-0 – and a six-goal difference on aggregate.
With everything already decided, Pilsen were at least able to get on the scoreboard with 9:08 to play, as Denis Kindl’s point shot through a crowd found the back of the net to break Gustafsson’s shutout. Gustafsson stopped 15 of 16 shots in the game.
Frölunda now must wait until tomorrow to see which Red Bull team – Salzburg or Munich – will be their opponent in the Final.