The last Northern Conference quarter-finals took place today. Pixbo IBK continue to the semi-finals in both the Men’s and the Women’s Champions Cup and Thorengruppen qualify for the semi-finals after beating Classic for the second time.
Thorengruppen IBK v Classic
The defending Women’s Champions Cup champions proved why they are the favourites to retain their trophy yet again, with another strong, convincing performance in both games of their series against Finnish side SC Classic. Classic couldn’t survive the firepower on show for Thorengruppen as the Finnish twin duo Oona and Veera Kauppi once again took over proceedings with 3 and 2 points respectively in Game 2 with fellow Finn Sofia Mittentag also contributing strongly with 2 goals. Despite pushing Classic just couldn’t keep up with the firepower on show from their Swedish opponents and the focus will now shift towards taking back the Finnish league and cup title, that has been so close and yet just out of reach for Classic in recent seasons. Game 2 started off fairly even with only a 1 goal lead for Thorengruppen after 20 minutes, Classic with good, compact defending and dangerous counter attacks meaning Lovisa Hedin in the Thorengruppen net was the busier of the two goalies after 20 minutes. Whatever was said in the intermission by the Thorengruppen coaching staff, proved to be insightful as the next 40 minutes of action was all one way traffic, Thorengruppen controlling and racking up goal after goal. Despite a goal from Veera Vilenius, there wasn’t much Classic could do against their opponents with the final score of 9-2 confirming Thorengruppen’s progression into the Semi-Finals of the Champions Cup and keeping their dreams of a famous Championship “three-peat” by winning the Champions Cup 3 years in a row still alive.
Esport Oilers v Pixbo IBK
Oilers won the first game in Mölnlycke and got to host the second match in the home arena in Tapiola. Heikki Iiskola started the scoring for the home team but that was probably the only positive thing in the first period for Oilers. Pixbo were definitely more ready and after leading 3-1 after the first period and then 8-2 after the second, it started to be clear for everyone that the “Foxes” were more hungry for the win than the “Oil Men”. Oilers also experienced some bad luck as the goalkeeper Markus Laakso got injured in the second period after making two super saves. Also, Justus Kainulainen played less minutes in the match and stayed out until the end of the third period. Meanwhile Pixbo were better in every area and managed to use almost all their scoring opportunities. After regular time, the match was 10-4 for Pixbo and everyone had just overtime in their minds. In the current Champions Cup format, the goal difference does not matter, and because Oilers won the first match and Pixbo the second game in regular time, the 10-minute overtime with sudden death awaited. And it didn’t last very long. Captain Oskar Weissbach assisted and Gustav Fritzell’s precise shot decides it all. And Pixbo could start the celebrations – they qualified for the semi-finals! All Pixbo’s three lines scored goals and were led by top scorers Arvid Ase and Jakob Heins, both with 2+1 in this game. The bright stars for Oilers today were Eetu Sorvali with two goals and Rasmus Hellsten who jumped in goal when Laakso was out.
Pixbo captain Oskar Weissbach said in an interview that the loss against Oilers in the first match was their “wake-up call” and that most of the team “was not ready for the pace of the game” but also that they were more ready mentally and physically for today’s game. He also thinks Champions Cup is a learning experience for everyone on the team, but they are here to win the whole thing. In the pre-game interview, the Pixbo Head Coach Torbjörn Jonsson, who joined the Pixbo team this season, praised his team by saying that they are fighting for the SSL title this season and was confident about his team’s performance. On the Oilers side, Eetu Nykänen expressed his disappointment on their performance but also said he has enjoyed playing the Champions Cup matches. The regular season in the F-liiga is only couple weeks away and now Oilers, being the reigning Finnish champions, will be focusing on that.
TPS v Pixbo IBK
Coming back home after showing a strong fight against Pixbo in Gothenburg, TPS hoped that with familiar setting and home crowd, the momentum could be in their favour. However it wasn’t to be for the black and white side from Turku as Pixbo showed once again why they are a force to be reckoned with in the Women’s Champions Cup this season. TPS once again in similar fashion to Game 1 started off strong early on, and this time went 2-0 up with just over 9 minutes played. The 2nd goal however seemed to light a fire under Pixbo as they instantly rebounded and by the end of the 1st period had tied things up. Klara Loneberg started to pull her Pixbo side away from TPS with 2 goals towards the end of the 2nd period that had things stand at 5-3 after 40 minutes. Knowing that they needed to win to keep their hopes of making the Semi-Finals alive TPS pushed forward but it left gaps at the back that Isabelle Gerig and Pixbo exploited. Gerig, a new signing for this season proved her talent with 4 goals on the day and even added an assist to Loneberg, showing just how dangerous she will be for her new team this upcoming season in the Champions Cup and SSL. For TPS despite the loss there were positives for a team that has been marred by departures this summer. The 3 in a row Finnish Champions lost several key players and will therefore be more reliant on some of their youth this summer. One of the bright stars has been the play of 23 year old forward Meri-Helmi Hoynala who not only broke into the Finnish Women’s team at the 2023 WFC in Singapore but will be pivotal as she moves onto the TPS top line alongside captain Jenna Saario and Sofia Leino, two more experienced teammates.
The Champions Cup Quarter-Finals continue with the Southern Conference at the end of September when the Czech and Swiss teams take the stage.
The Semi-Finals draw will take place after the conclusion of the Southern Conference Quarter-Finals.
