2018–19 Champions Hockey League

The 2018–19 Champions Hockey League was the fifth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. The tournament was competed by 32 teams, and qualification was on sporting merits only. The six founding leagues were represented by between three and five teams (based on a four-year league ranking), while seven "challenge leagues" were represented by one team each. One place was awarded to the Continental Cup champion. Unlike in the first three editions, founding teams did not automatically qualify.^[4] The group stages began on 30 August 2018, and ended on 17 October 2018.^[5] The season had an average attendance of 3,401 per game, one percent increase from the previous season.^[6]

2018–19 Champions Hockey League

Tournament details
Dates	30 August 2018 – 5 February 2019
Teams	32
Final positions
Champions	Frölunda HC[1] (3rd title)
Runners-up	Red Bull München
Tournament statistics
Games played	125
Goals scored	738 (5.9 per game)
Attendance	425,050 (3,400 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Ryan Lasch[2] (22 points)
Awards
MVP	Trevor Parkes[3]
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

Swedish team Frölunda HC won their third Champions Hockey League title, defeating Red Bull München, the first German team to reach the final, 3–1 at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.^[1]

Team allocation

A total of 32 teams from different European first-tier leagues participated in the 2018–19 Champions Hockey League. Besides the Continental Cup champions, 24 teams from the six founding leagues, as well as the national champions from Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, France, Belarus, the United Kingdom and Poland qualified.

The qualification for these places was set out in the rules as follows:^[7]

1. National league champion (play-off winners)
2. Regular season winners
3. Regular season runner-up
4. Losing play-off finalist
5. Higher regular season ranked losing semi-finalist
6. Lower regular season ranked losing semi-finalist
7. Third placed team in regular season
8. Fourth placed team in regular season
9. Fifth placed team in regular season.

Teams

Team	City/Area	League	Qualification	Participation	Previous best
JYP	Jyväskylä	SM-liiga	2018 CHL winner	5th	Champion
Växjö Lakers	Växjö	Swedish Hockey League	play-off champion	5th	final
Djurgårdens IF	Stockholm	Swedish Hockey League	regular season runner-up	4th	round of 16
Skellefteå AIK	Skellefteå	Swedish Hockey League	play-off finalist	4th	semi-finals
Malmö Redhawks	Malmö	Swedish Hockey League	play-off semi-finalist	2nd	round of 16
Frölunda HC	Gothenburg	Swedish Hockey League	regular season third place	5th	Champion
Kärpät	Oulu	Liiga	play-off champion	4th	final
TPS	Turku	Liiga	regular season runner-up	5th	quarter-finals
Tappara	Tampere	Liiga	play-off finalist	5th	round of 16
HIFK	Helsinki	Liiga	play-off semi-finalist	5th	quarter-finals
Kometa Brno	Brno	Czech Extraliga	play-off champion	2nd	quarter-finals
HC Plzeň	Plzeň	Czech Extraliga	regular season winner	2nd	round of 32
Mountfield HK	Hradec Králové	Czech Extraliga	regular season runner-up	2nd	group stage
Oceláři Třinec	Třinec	Czech Extraliga	play-off finalist	4th	semi-finals
ZSC Lions	Zürich	National League	play-off champion	5th	quarter-finals
SC Bern	Bern	National League	regular season winner	5th	quarter-finals
EV Zug	Zug	National League	regular season runner-up	5th	round of 16
HC Lugano	Lugano	National League	play-off finalist	2nd	round of 16
Red Bull München	Munich	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	play-off champion	4th	round of 16
Eisbären Berlin	Berlin	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	regular season runner-up	4th	round of 16
Nürnberg Ice Tigers	Nuremberg	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	play-off semi-finalist	1st
HC Bolzano	Bolzano	Austrian Hockey League	play-off champion	2nd	group stage
Vienna Capitals	Vienna	Austrian Hockey League	regular season first round winner	5th	round of 16
Red Bull Salzburg	Salzburg	Austrian Hockey League	regular season pick round runner-up	5th	round of 16
Yunost Minsk	Minsk	Belarusian Extraleague	Continental Cup winner	2nd	round of 32
Neman Grodno	Grodno	Belarusian Extraleague	play-off champion	3rd	group stage
HC '05 Banská Bystrica	Banská Bystrica	Tipsport Liga	play-off champion	2nd	group stage
Storhamar Ishockey	Hamar	GET-ligaen	play-off champion	2nd	round of 16
Cardiff Devils	Cardiff	Elite Ice Hockey League	regular season champion	2nd	group stage
Aalborg Pirates	Aalborg	Metal Ligaen	play-off champion	1st
Dragons de Rouen	Rouen	Ligue Magnus	play-off champion	2nd	group stage
GKS Tychy	Tychy	Polska Hokej Liga	play-off champion	1st

Group stage

ZSC

Vienna

Frölunda

Aalborg

München

TPS

Malmö

Minsk
(not on map)

Bolzano

Skellefteå

HIFK

Tychy

Brno

Berlin

Zug

Grodno

Djurgården

Tappara

Třinec

Storhamar

Kärpät

Mountfield

Nürnberg

Rouen

Växjö

Bern

Salzburg

Cardiff

JYP

Plzeň

Lugano

Banská Bystrica

Teams in the 2018–19 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 were drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each team played home and away against every other team for a total of 6 games. The best 2 teams qualified to the round of 16.^[8]

Pots

As the reigning CHL champions, JYP were the top seeded team. In the top pot were also the reigning champions of the six founding leagues and the regular season winner of SHL. The 16 remaining teams from founding leagues were placed to pots 2 and 3. The fourth pot included playoff champions of seven challenge leagues and Yunost Minsk, the champion of 2017–18 IIHF Continental Cup.^[9]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
JYP Växjö Lakers Kärpät Kometa Brno ZSC Lions Red Bull München HC Bolzano Djurgårdens IF	TPS HC Plzeň SC Bern Eisbären Berlin Vienna Capitals Skellefteå AIK Tappara Mountfield HK	EV Zug Nürnberg Ice Tigers Red Bull Salzburg Malmö Redhawks HIFK Oceláři Třinec HC Lugano Frölunda HC	HC '05 Banská Bystrica Neman Grodno Storhamar Ishockey Cardiff Devils Aalborg Pirates Dragons de Rouen GKS Tychy Yunost Minsk

Group stage tie-breaking criteria

If two teams were tied in points after the group stage was finished, the teams precedence was decided by head-to-head games. If teams were tied after that, then the team which was ranked higher prior to the tournament took precedence. When comparing head-to-head results, the following criteria were applied:^[8]

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 2017–18 CHL club ranking

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		FHC	ZSC	VIC	ABP
1	Frölunda HC	6	4	0	1	1	22	11	+11	13[a]	Advance to Playoffs		—	4–2	1–4	6–0
2	ZSC Lions	6	3	2	0	1	26	18	+8	13[a]			3–2 (SO)	—	7–4	6–5 (OT)
3	Vienna Capitals	6	2	0	1	3	19	22	−3	7			1–4	2–6	—	2–3 (OT)
4	Aalborg Pirates	6	0	1	1	4	11	27	−16	3			1–5	1–2	1–6	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Frölunda HC 4, ZSC Lions 2.

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MAL	RBM	TPS	YUN
1	Malmö Redhawks	6	4	0	0	2	24	16	+8	12[a]	Advance to Playoffs		—	6–1	8–4	4–1
2	Red Bull München	6	4	0	0	2	19	17	+2	12[a]			3–2	—	5–1	4–3
3	TPS	6	2	0	0	4	15	21	−6	6[b]			1–2	5–3	—	3–1
4	Yunost Minsk	6	2	0	0	4	13	17	−4	6[b]			6–2	0–3	2–1	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head goal difference: Malmö Redhawks +4, Red Bull München –4.
2. Head-to-head goal difference: TPS +1, Yunost Minsk –1.

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SKE	HCB	HIFK	GKS
1	Skellefteå AIK	6	4	0	2	0	27	13	+14	14	Advance to Playoffs		—	2–1	3–4 (OT)	6–2
2	HC Bolzano	6	2	2	0	2	20	16	+4	10			4–3 (SO)	—	4–1	6–4
3	HIFK	6	2	1	1	2	14	18	−4	9			1–5	1–2 (SO)	—	2–1
4	GKS Tychy	6	1	0	0	5	16	30	−14	3			1–8	5–3	3–5	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EVZ	KOM	BER	NEM
1	EV Zug	6	5	0	1	0	22	12	+10	16	Advance to Playoffs		—	2–1	6–1	2–3 (OT)
2	Kometa Brno	6	3	0	0	3	18	16	+2	9			2–3	—	4–3	6–2
3	Eisbären Berlin	6	2	0	0	4	17	21	−4	6			3–5	2–3	—	4–1
4	Neman Grodno	6	1	1	0	4	14	22	−8	5			2–4	4–2	2–4	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TAP	STO	DIF	TRI
1	Tappara	6	4	1	1	0	29	12	+17	15	Advance to Playoffs		—	6–1	5–1	3–2 (OT)
2	Storhamar Hockey	6	2	1	1	2	17	20	−3	9			3–2 (SO)	—	2–3 (OT)	6–2
3	Djurgårdens IF	6	2	1	0	3	21	19	+2	8			3–5	5–2	—	3–4
4	Oceláři Třinec	6	1	0	1	4	13	29	−16	4			2–8	2–3	1–6	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KAR	DRA	NIT	MHK
1	Kärpät	6	4	1	0	1	27	14	+13	14	Advance to Playoffs		—	4–0	9–3	3–2
2	Dragons de Rouen	6	3	0	0	3	15	15	0	9			2–4	—	4–2	2–0
3	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	6	2	1	0	3	17	25	−8	8			4–3	2–5	—	4–3 (OT)
4	Mountfield HK	6	1	0	2	3	12	17	−5	5			3–4 (SO)	3–2	1–2	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RBS	SCB	VLH	CAR
1	Red Bull Salzburg	6	4	0	1	1	18	15	+3	13[a]	Advance to Playoffs		—	2–1	4–3	4–2
2	SC Bern	6	3	2	0	1	15	11	+4	13[a]			2–1 (SO)	—	4–3	3–2
3	Växjö Lakers	6	2	1	0	3	21	18	+3	8			5–2	1–2	—	3–1
4	Cardiff Devils	6	0	0	2	4	14	24	−10	2			2–5	2–3 (OT)	5–6 (OT)	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Red Bull Salzburg 4, SC Bern 2.

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HCP	LUG	JYP	BAB
1	HC Plzeň	6	5	1	0	0	25	14	+11	17	Advance to Playoffs		—	3–2	4–2	6–4
2	HC Lugano	6	3	0	0	3	13	12	+1	9			2–3	—	2–0	4–1
3	JYP	6	2	0	0	4	16	14	+2	6			2–6	0–1	—	6–0
4	HC '05 Banská Bystrica	6	1	0	1	4	13	27	−14	4			2–3 (OT)	5–2	1–6	—

Source: championshockeyleague.net

Playoffs

Qualified teams

Group	Winners (seed)	Runners-up
A	Frölunda HC (6)	ZSC Lions
B	Malmö Redhawks (8)	Red Bull München
C	Skellefteå AIK (4)	HC Bolzano
D	EV Zug (2)	Kometa Brno
E	Tappara (3)	Storhamar
F	Kärpät (5)	Dragons de Rouen
G	Red Bull Salzburg (7)	SC Bern
H	HC Plzeň (1)	HC Lugano

Format

In each round except the final, the teams played two games and the aggregate score decided the team which advanced. As a rule, the first leg was hosted by the team who had the inferior record in the tournament to that point and the second leg was played on the home ice of the other team. If aggregate score was tied, a sudden death overtime followed. If the overtime is scoreless, the team who wins the game winning shot competition advanced.^[8]

The final was played on the home ice of the team who had the better record in the tournament on 5 February 2019.

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.^[8] The draw took place in Helsinki, Finland on 19 October 2018.^[10]

	Round of 16							Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	1	Red Bull München	2	2	4
	16	EV Zug	3	0	3
								Red Bull München (OT)		2	5	7
								Malmö Redhawks		1	5	6
	8	SC Bern	1	0	1
	9	Malmö Redhawks	4	1	5
															Red Bull München		0	3	3
															Red Bull Salzburg		0	1	1
	5	ZSC Lions	4	2	6
	12	Kärpät	4	3	7
								Kärpät		2	1	3
								Red Bull Salzburg		3	1	4
	4	Dragons de Rouen	3	1	4
	13	Red Bull Salzburg	3	5	8
																						Red Bull München		1
																						Frölunda HC		3
	6	Kometa Brno	5	5	10
	11	Tappara	1	5	6
								Kometa Brno		1	1	2
								Frölunda HC		4	6	10
	3	HC Lugano	1	4	5
	14	Frölunda HC	1	5	6
															Frölunda HC		6	3	9
															HC Plzeň		3	1	4
	7	Storhamar	4	2	6
	10	Skellefteå AIK	4	3	7
								Skellefteå AIK		3	1	4
								HC Plzeň (SO)		3	2	5
	2	HC Bolzano	1	2	3
	15	HC Plzeň	6	6	12

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. The Malmö Redhawks, however, ended up playing their first leg at home due to their arena being reserved on 20 November.
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.

Round of 16

First Leg

6 November 2018 18:00 CET

Malmö Redhawks

4–1 (0–0, 2–1, 2–0)

SC Bern

Malmö Arena, Malmö Attendance: 2,543

Game reference
	Lars Volden	Goalies	Leonardo Genoni	Referees: Christopher Hurtik Gordon Schukies Linesmen: Ludvig Lundgren Anders Nyqvist
	Hetta (Bryggman, Mylläri) – 23:37 1–0 1–1 31:51 – Bieber (Arcobello, Moser) Setkov (Wemmenborn, Hetta) – 35:44 2–1 Sylvegård (Bryggman, Volden) – 54:43 3–1 Mylläri (Hardt, Storm) – 58:07 4–1
	12 min	Penalties	10 min
	27	Shots	28

6 November 2018 18:00 CET

Kometa Brno

5–1 (2–0, 1–1, 2–0)

Tappara

DRFG Arena, Brno Attendance: 3,365

Game reference
	Karel Vejmelka	Goalies	Christian Heljanko	Referees: Mikael Andersson Mikael Sjöqvist Linesmen: Miroslav Lhotský Jiří Svoboda
	Čermák (Dočekal, Köhler) – 7:40 1–0 Plášek (Mikyska) – 9:11 2–0 Mueller (Dočekal) – 22:18 3–0 3–1 24:05 – Moilanen (Kemiläinen, Levtchi) Holík (Kašpar, Mueller) – 48:08 4–1 Čermák (Mallet) – 53:04 5–1
	10 min	Penalties	6 min
	26	Shots	32

6 November 2018 18:30 CET

Storhamar Hockey

4–4 (0–0, 3–4, 1–0)

Skellefteå AIK

CC Amfi, Hamar Attendance: 4,850

Game reference
	Oskar Östlund	Goalies	Gustaf Lindvall	Referees: Ladislav Smetana Trpimir Piragić Linesmen: Jon Kilian Knut Einar Bråten
	0–1 20:40 – Olimb (Ericsson) Thoresen – 25:31 1–1 1–2 29:32 – Hedberg (Norén) 1–3 31:21 – Djuse (Olimb, Lindström) 1–4 31:47 – Norén Svensson (Thoresen, Johansson) (PP) – 37:29 2–4 Larrivée (Irving, Jensen) – 38:09 3–4 Jakobs (Thoresen) (PP) – 46:19 4–4
	8 min	Penalties	8 min
	24	Shots	31

6 November 2018 19:45 CET

ZSC Lions

4–4 (2–2, 1–0, 1–2)

Kärpät

Hallenstadion, Zürich Attendance: 3,510

Game reference
	Niklas Schlegel	Goalies	Veini Vehviläinen	Referees: Marcus Linde Mikael Nord Linesmen: Franco Castelli Dominik Altmann
	0–1 0:44 – Heponiemi Klein – 8:47 1–1 Prassl (Noreau, Schlegel) – 15:42 2–1 2–2 18:41 – (SHG) Lasu (Lindsten, Ohtamaa) Pettersson (Suter) – 33:47 3–2 3–3 51:20 – (PP) Lasu 3–4 58:53 – (PP) Heshka (Kivihalme, Leskinen) Pettersson (Suter, Noreau) – 59:58 4–4
	12 min	Penalties	6 min
	29	Shots	22

6 November 2018 19:45 CET

HC Bolzano

1–6 (0–2, 1–3, 0–1)

HC Plzeň

Eiswelle, Bolzano Attendance: 4,850

Game reference
	Leland Irving (pulled at 40:00) Jacob Smith	Goalies	Dmitri Milchakov	Referees: Daniel Piechaczek Marian Rohatsch Linesmen: Ulrich Pardatscher Jakob Schauer
	0–1 4:28 – Allen (Kaňák, Eberle) 0–2 6:52 – Indrák (Kodýtek) Petan (Kuparinen, Frigo) – 22:41 1–2 1–3 25:08 – Indrák (Kindl, Kodýtek) 1–4 32:03 – Gulaš (Kracík) 1–5 38:49 – Indrák (Kaňák) 1–6 49:22 – Straka
	39 min	Penalties	33 min
	21	Shots	41

6 November 2018 19:45 CET

HC Lugano

1–1 (0–0, 1–1, 0–0)

Frölunda HC

Cornèr Arena, Porza Attendance: 3,846

Game reference
	Elvis Merzlikins	Goalies	Johan Mattsson	Referees: Lasse Heikkinen Stefan Fonselius Linesmen: Stany Gnemmi Dario Fuchs
	0–1 25:46 – Westerholm (Westerholm) Haapala (Sannitz, Hofmann) – 38:21 1–1
	8 min	Penalties	8 min
	22	Shots	40

6 November 2018 20:00 CET

Red Bull München

2–3 (0–1, 2–1, 0–1)

EV Zug

Olympia Eishalle, Munich Attendance: 2,290

Game reference
	Danny aus den Birken	Goalies	Tobias Stephan	Referees: Manuel Nikolić Miroslav Stolc Linesmen: Kilian Hinterdobler Andreas Hofer
	0–1 9:20 – Schlumpf (Simion) 0–2 28:13 – Martschini (Suri) Shugg (Aulie) – 29:35 1–2 Mitchell – 32:25 2–2 2–3 57:58 – Martschini (Suri, Albrecht)
	26 min	Penalties	4 min
	26	Shots	30

6 November 2018 20:00 CET

Rouen Dragons

3–3 (2–2, 1–1, 0–0)

Red Bull Salzburg

Île Lacroix, Rouen Attendance: 2,746

Game reference
	Matija Pintarič	Goalies	Stephen Michalek	Referees: Marc Wiegand Thomas Urban Linesmen: Clément Goncalves Nicolas Constantineau
	Thinel (Dusseau, Langlais) – 13:24 1–0 1–1 14:55 – Hochkofler (Huber) 1–2 15:38 – Vandevelde (Raymond, Feldner) Deschamps (Aleardi, Brodeur) – 18:35 2–2 Ritz (Lampérier, Guttig) (PP) – 21:49 3–2 3–3 39:32 – Štajnoch (Raymond, Harris)
	6 min	Penalties	6 min
	24	Shots	31

Second Leg

20 November 2018 17:00 CET

HC Plzeň

6–2 (1–0, 4–2, 1–0)

HC Bolzano

Home Monitoring Aréna, Plzeň Attendance: 4,831

Game reference
	Dmitri Milchakov	Goalies	Jacob Smith (pulled at 25:29) Leland Irving	Referees: Marcus Linde Marc Lemelin Linesmen: Jiří Ondráček Josef Špůr
	Gulaš (PS) – 15:13 1–0 Gulaš (Němec) – 21:16 2–0 Gulaš (Němec) – 23:44 3–0 Preisinger (Indrák) (PP) – 25:29 4–0 4–1 28:58 – Insam (Kuparinen) Gulaš – 33:33 5–1 5–2 33:56 – Findlay Indrák (Kaňák, Gulaš) – 51:04 6–2
	4 min	Penalties	8 min
	40	Shots	22

HC Plzeň won 12–3 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 18:00 CET

Frölunda HC

5–4 (1–1, 1–2, 3–1)

HC Lugano

Frölundaborg, Gothenburg Attendance: 2,469

Game reference
	Johan Gustafsson	Goalies	Elvis Merzlikins	Referees: Jan Hribik Robin Šír Linesmen: Henrik Pihlblad Anders Nyqvist
	Sigalet (Fagemo, Lasch) – 0:50 1–0 1–1 11:33 – Bertaggia (Chorney, Romanenghi) 1–2 31:17 – Bertaggia (Romanenghi) 1–3 32:35 – Lajunen (Jörg, Walker) Lasch (Rakhshani, Genoway) (PP 5 ON 3) – 34:30 2–3 Stålberg (Lindström, Sigalet) – 45:12 3–3 3–4 48:56 – (PP) Sannitz (Hofmann, Klasen) Grönlund (Fagemo, Lasch) – 52:08 4–4 Lasch (Rakhshani, Genoway) (PP) – 57:13 5–4
	6 min	Penalties	10 min
	38	Shots	27

Frölunda HC won 6–5 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 18:00 CET

Skellefteå AIK

3–2 (1–2, 2–0, 0–0)

Storhamar Hockey

Skellefteå Kraft Arena, Skellefteå Attendance: 1,524

Game reference
	Mantas Armalis	Goalies	Oskar Östlund	Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Kristian Vikman Linesmen: Emil Yletyienen Johannes Käck
	0–1 5:18 – (PP) Thoresen (Zettergren) Aaltonen (Holloway, Möller) (PP) – 9:16 1–1 1–2 12:26 – (PP) Johansson (Svensson, Dahlstrøm) Holloway (Möller, Holloway) (PP) – 28:09 2–2 Holloway (Ericsson, Djuse) – 31:42 3–2
	10 min	Penalties	6 min
	24	Shots	20

Skellefteå AIK won 7–6 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 18:00 CET

Kärpät

3–2 (1–1, 0–1, 2–0)

ZSC Lions

Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu Attendance: 3,441

Game reference
	Veini Vehviläinen	Goalies	Lukas Flüeler	Referees: Linus Öhlund Tobias Björk Linesmen: Henri Neva Hannu Sormunen
	Kivihalme (Krištof, Heshka) – 10:38 1–0 1–1 13:12 – (PP) Baltisberger (Pettersson, Suter) 1–2 21:20 – Bachofner (Suter) Koblížek (Lasu) – 43:37 2–2 Koblížek (Lasu, Kukkonen) – 58:47 3–2
	10 min	Penalties	4 min
	26	Shots	30

Oulun Kärpät won 7–6 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 18:00 CET

Tappara

5–5 (2–0, 1–2, 2–3)

Kometa Brno

Hakametsä Stadium, Tampere Attendance: 4,049

Game reference
	Christian Heljanko	Goalies	Karel Vejmelka	Referees: Joris Müller Marc Wiegand Linesmen: Lauri Nikulainen Jani Pesonen
	Vittasmaki (Kemiläinen) – 2:02 1–0 Elias (Elorinne, Malinen) – 11:01 2–0 2–1 23:30 – Kašpar 2–2 24:42 – Zaťovič (Mueller) Erkinjuntti (Järvinen, Vittasmaki) – 30:04 3–2 Erkinjuntti (Kemiläinen, Ojamäki) (PP) – 44:54 4–2 4–3 48:07 – Hruška 4–4 53:25 – (PP) Mueller (Zaťovič, Holík) 4–5 55:46 – Dočekal (Köhler, Čermák) Jasu (Järvinen, Malinen) (PP) – 57:41 5–5
	8 min	Penalties	12 min
	30	Shots	22

Kometa Brno won 10–6 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 19:30 CET

Red Bull Salzburg

5–1 (2–0, 1–1, 2–0)

Rouen Dragons

Eisarena Salzburg, Salzburg Attendance: 2,177

Game reference
	Stephen Michalek	Goalies	Matija Pintarič	Referees: Oldřich Hejduk Antonín Jeřábek Linesmen: Elias Seewald David Nothegger
	Duncan (Hughes, Heinrich) (PP) – 11:19 1–0 Harris (Herburger, Vandevelde) – 18:57 2–0 2–1 27:00 – Bedin Raffl (Regner, Hughes) – 27:47 3–1 Raymond (Hochkofler) – 56:35 4–1 Duncan (Huber, Hughes) (ENG) – 58:29 5–1
	8 min	Penalties	6 min
	51	Shots	22

Red Bull Salzburg won 8–4 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 19:45 CET

SC Bern

0–1 (0–0, 0–0, 0–1)

Malmö Redhawks

PostFinance Arena, Bern Attendance: 13,573

Game reference
	Leonardo Genoni	Goalies	Oscar Alsenfelt	Referees: Daniel Piechaczek Lasse Kopitz Linesmen: Franco Castelli Dario Fuchs
	0–1 58:38 – (ENG) Warg (Sylvegård, Ekberg)
	6 min	Penalties	8 min
	27	Shots	17

Malmö Redhawks won 5–1 on Aggregate.

20 November 2018 19:45 CET

EV Zug

0–2 (0–0, 0–1, 0–1)

Red Bull München

Bossard Arena, Zug Attendance: 4,946

Game reference
	Tobias Stephan	Goalies	Danny aus den Birken	Referees: Ladislav Smetana Manuel Nikolić Linesmen: Simon Wust Dominik Altmann
	0–1 21:07 – (PP) Shugg (Joslin, Mitchell) 0–2 54:52 – Mauer (Voakes)
	6 min	Penalties	8 min
	37	Shots	25

Red Bull München won 4–3 on Aggregate.

Quarter-finals

First Leg

4 December 2018 18:00 CET

Kometa Brno

1–4 (1–1, 0–3, 0–0)

Frölunda HC

DRFG Arena, Brno Attendance: 3,290

Game reference
	Lukáš Dostál	Goalies	Johan Gustafsson	Referees: Marc Lemelin Daniel Stricker Linesmen: Jiří Ondráček Rudolf Tošenovjan
	Köhler (Zohorna, Mikyska) (PP) – 9:57 1–0 1–1 19:33 – (PP) Carlsson (Lasch, Rakhshani) 1–2 20:17 – Carlsson (Lasch, Genoway) 1–3 27:21 – Rosseli Olsen (Friberg, Mustonen) 1–4 30:54 – (PP 5 on 3) Genoway (Lasch, Carlsson)
	16 min	Penalties	10 min
	17	Shots	30

4 December 2018 18:00 CET

Skellefteå AIK

3–3 (0–1, 0–2, 3–0)

HC Plzeň

Skellefteå Kraft Arena, Skellefteå Attendance: 1,570

Game reference
	Mantas Armalis	Goalies	Dmitri Milchakov	Referees: Kristian Vikman Lasse Heikkinen Linesmen: Emil Yletyienen Johannes Käck
	0–1 11:20 – Gulaš (Kantner) 0–2 25:17 – Kantner 0–3 28:22 – Kodýtek (Straka, Kvasnička) Aaltonen (Wingerli, Alm) – 47:25 1–3 Lindström (Aaltonen, Djuse) – 52:55 2–3 Lindström (Granberg, Alm) – 57:06 3–3
	8 min	Penalties	10 min
	35	Shots	25

4 December 2018 19:30 CET

Red Bull München

2–1 (0–0, 0–0, 2–1)

Malmö Redhawks

Olympia Eishalle, Munich Attendance: 3,440

Game reference
	Danny aus den Birken	Goalies	Cristopher Nihlstorp	Referees: Manuel Nikolić Kristian Nikolić Linesmen: Andreas Hofer Kilian Hinterdobler
	0–1 45:38 – Storm (Torp, Hetta) Joslin (Eder) – 47:14 1–1 Mauer (Kastner, Bodnarchuk) – 53:37 2–1
	8 min	Penalties	8 min
	31	Shots	29

4 December 2018 19:30 CET

Red Bull Salzburg

3–2 (0–0, 1–0, 2–2)

Kärpät

Eisarena Salzburg, Salzburg Attendance: 2,786

Game reference
	Stephen Michalek	Goalies	Veini Vehviläinen	Referees: Mikael Sjöqvist Sören Persson Linesmen: David Nothegger Elias Seewald
	Harris (Vandevelde, Raymond) – 21:29 1–0 Harris (Trattnig, Pallestrang) – 41:53 2–0 2–1 43:30 – Lasu (Hakanpää) 2–2 49:33 – Junnila (Karvinen, Kukkonen) Hughes (Raymond, Raffl) – 59:37 3–2
	6 min	Penalties	4 min
	26	Shots	25

Second Leg

11 December 2018 17:00 CET

HC Plzeň

2–1 (3–1 SO) (0–0, 0–0, 1–1) (0–0) (SO 3–1)

Skellefteå AIK

Home Monitoring Aréna, Plzeň Attendance: 4,224

Game reference
	Dominik Frodl	Goalies	Gustaf Lindvall	Referees: Daniel Piechaczek Marian Rohatsch Linesmen: Josef Špůr Jiří Svoboda
	0–1 57:32 – (PP) Alvarez (Pudas, Aaltonen) Kindl (Gulaš, Kovář (EA) – 59:24 1–1 Kovář (SO) – 70:00 2–1
	Kratěna Kodýtek Kovář Gulaš	Shootout	Pudas Lindström Lindström Möller
	8 min	Penalties	12 min
	35	Shots	37

HC Plzeň won 5–4 on Aggregate after winning 3–1 in a shootout.

11 December 2018 18:00 CET

Frölunda HC

6–1 (0–1, 3–0, 3–0)

Kometa Brno

Frölundaborg, Gothenburg Attendance: 2,058

Game reference
	Johan Gustafsson	Goalies	Karel Vejmelka	Referees: Marc Wiegand Alessandro DiPietro Linesmen: Henrik Pihlblad Anders Nyqvist
	0–1 2:26 – Meluzín (Mlynář, Schaus) Genoway (Carlsson, Stålberg) – 20:39 1–1 Carlsson (Söderlund, Westerlund) – 26:10 2–1 Genoway (Carlsson, Rakhshani) (PP) – 29:42 3–1 Westerholm (Sigalet, Friberg) (PP) – 41:07 4–1 Rakhshani (Westerlund, Nørstebø) – 43:58 5–1 Westerholm (Fagemo, Westerholm) – 53:59 6–1
	2 min	Penalties	8 min
	43	Shots	15

Frölunda HC won 10–2 on Aggregate.

11 December 2018 18:00 CET

Malmö Redhawks

5–5 (OT) (2–1, 2–3, 1–0) (OT 0–1)

Red Bull München

Malmö Arena, Malmö Attendance: 2,493

Game reference
	Oscar Alsenfelt	Goalies	Danny aus den Birken	Referees: Antonín Jeřábek Jan Hribik Linesmen: Ludvig Lundgren Örjan Åhlen
	Sylvegård (Lerby) – 2:58 1–0 Olofsson (Händemark) (PP) – 11:38 2–0 2–1 19:56 – (PP) Parkes (Ehliz, Mitchell) 2–2 21:17 – Parkes (Mitchell) 2–3 24:26 – Shugg (Voakes) Olofsson (Janolhs) – 34:53 3–3 Olsson (Komarek, Setkov) – 38:40 4–3 4–4 39:43 – Boyle (Mitchell, Parkes) Storm (Warg) – 53:16 5–4 5–5 64:02 – Parkes (Mitchell)
	6 min	Penalties	10 min
	31	Shots	27

Red Bull München won 7–6 on Aggregate in Overtime.

11 December 2018 18:00 CET

Kärpät

1–1 (0–1, 1–0, 0–0)

Red Bull Salzburg

Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu Attendance: 3,565

Game reference
	Veini Vehviläinen	Goalies	Stephen Michalek	Referees: Linus Öhlund Tobias Björk Linesmen: Lauri Nikulainen Jani Pesonen
	0–1 14:23 – (PP) Rauchenwald (Herburger, Viveiros) Osala (Heponiemi) – 21:47 1–1
	6 min	Penalties	10 min
	45	Shots	13

Red Bull Salzburg won 4–3 on Aggregate.

Semi-finals

First Leg

8 January 2019 18:00 CET

Frölunda HC

6–3 (2–1, 3–1, 1–1)

HC Plzeň

Frölundaborg, Gothenburg Attendance: 2,975

Game reference
	Johan Gustafsson	Goalies	Dmitri Milchakov (pulled at 29:49) Dominik Frodl	Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Kristian Vikman Linesmen: Henrik Pihlblad Anders Nyqvist
	Mustonen (Ekbom) (SHG) – 5:45 1–0 Rakhshani (Lasch, Genoway) (PP) – 11:43 2–0 2–1 18:48 – (SHG) Allen 2–2 24:31 – Allen (Straka, Jones) Lasch (Carlsson, Fagemo) – 27:54 3–2 Grönlund (Rakhshani, Friberg) – 29:49 4–2 Hjalmarsson (Stålberg, Sigalet) – 31:06 5–2 Rakhshani (Lasch, Lundqvist) (PP) – 47:57 6–2 6–3 50:56 – Allen (Gulaš, Kovář)
	12 min	Penalties	14 min
	26	Shots	27

8 January 2019 19:30 CET

Red Bull München

0–0 (0–0, 0–0, 0–0)

Red Bull Salzburg

Olympia Eishalle, Munich Attendance: 6,142

Game reference
	Danny aus den Birken	Goalies	Stephen Michalek	Referees: Marc Lemelin Daniel Stricker Linesmen: Kilian Hinterdobler Andreas Hofer
	18 min	Penalties	12 min
	31	Shots	26

Second Leg

15 January 2019 17:30 CET

HC Plzeň

1–3 (0–1, 0–0, 1–2)

Frölunda HC

Home Monitoring Aréna, Plzeň Attendance: 5,105

Game reference
	Johan Gustafsson	Goalies	Dominik Frodl	Referees: Daniel Piechaczek Marian Rohatsch Linesmen: Daniel Hynek Miroslav Lhotský
	Kindl – 50:42 Goals 3:12 – Lasch (Carlsson, Moverare) / 41:59 – (PP) Hjalmarsson (Lindström, Westerholm) / 42:41 – Mustonen
	10 min	Penalties	8 min
	16	Shots	21

Frölunda HC won 9–4 on Aggregate.

16 January 2019 20:20 CET

Red Bull Salzburg

1–3 (1–2, 0–0, 0–1)

Red Bull München

Eisarena Salzburg, Salzburg Attendance: 3,400

Game reference
	Stephen Michalek	Goalies	Danny aus den Birken	Referees: Mikael Nord Sören Persson Linesmen: Elias Seewald David Nothegger
	Rauchenwald (Pallestrang) – 13:26 1–0 1–1 16:57 – Kastner (Voakes, Seidenberg) 1–2 19:54 – Seidenberg (Wolf, Joslin) 1–3 49:59 – Hager (Ehliz, Wolf)
	2 min	Penalties	4 min
	26	Shots	35

Red Bull München won 3–1 on Aggregate.

Final

5 February 2019 19:00 (UTC+1)

Frölunda HC

3–1 (1–0, 2–0, 0–1)

Red Bull München

Scandinavium, Gothenburg Attendance: 12,044

Game reference
	Johan Gustafsson	Goalies	Danny aus den Birken	Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Mark Lemelin Linesmen: Hannu Sormunen Balazs Kovacs
	Fagemo (Genoway, Friberg) (PP) – 10:32 1–0 Lasch (Lundqvist, Hjalmarsson) (PP) – 24:16 2–0 Westerholm (Hjalmarsson, Lundqvist) (PP) – 34:27 3–0 3–1 51:29 – Ehliz (Seidenberg, Voakes) (PP, EA)
	14 min	Penalties	24 min
	31	Shots	36

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points.^[11]

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/–	GWG	PPG	SHG	SOG	S%
Ryan Lasch	Frölunda HC	13	5	17	22	6	+4	2	3	0	26	19.23%
Chay Genoway	Frölunda HC	13	6	10	16	35	+1	0	4	0	36	16.67%
John Mitchell	Red Bull München	11	2	12	14	24	+6	0	1	0	26	7.69%
Nicklas Lasu	Kärpät	9	8	5	13	2	+4	1	4	2	25	32.00%
Milan Gulaš	HC Plzeň	10	8	5	13	8	+11	2	2	0	38	21.05%
Trevor Parkes	Red Bull München	9	9	3	12	18	+5	3	2	1	29	31.03%
Jarkko Malinen	Tappara	7	2	10	12	2	+4	0	0	0	11	18.18%
Oscar Möller	Skellefteå AIK	10	7	4	11	0	+6	1	2	0	48	14.58%
David Stach	HC Plzeň	10	3	8	11	0	–2	1	2	0	18	16.67%
Peter Schneider	Vienna Capitals	6	7	3	10	29	0	1	4	0	27	25.93%

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in save percentage, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes.^[12]

Player	Team	GP	W	L	SV	GA	SV%	GAA	SO	MIN
Cristopher Nihlstorp	Malmö Redhawks	4	2	2	108	7	93.91%	1.75	0	240
Steve Michalek	Red Bull Salzburg	10	4	3	264	19	93.29%	1.90	0	600
Matija Pintarič	Dragons de Rouen	8	3	4	290	21	93.25%	2.65	1	475
Johan Mattsson	Frölunda HC	6	3	2	122	9	93.13%	1.69	0	319
Leonardo Genoni	SC Bern	8	5	3	203	15	93.12%	1.86	1	483