Czech side Florbal Mladá Boleslav came out narrowly on top to beat Finnish team Nokian KrP 7-6 in the 2nd leg of their Semi-Final series and progress to the Men’s Champions Cup Final where they will face off against Pixbo from Sweden who once again won their series in Overtime breaking the hearts of the SV Wiler-Ersigen home crowd just like they did to Oilers the round before.
Nokian KrP Vs Mladá Boleslav
Heading into Leg 2 of the Semi-Finals the Czech side flew north to Nokian and the home of Nokian KrP to take on the hosts in a battle that went back and forth over the entire 60 minutes. After Leg 1 it was Mladá Boleslav who had the advantage with a 8-5 victory at home in the Czech Republic, meaning that a draw would be enough for them to progress, something that proved to be decisive late on. With both teams missing key players on defence (Nokian through injury and Mladá Boleslav through injury and suspension) it gave more of an emphasis on the attack, something that proved to be true with 3 goals in the first 4 minutes of action.
It was Mladá Boleslav who started the brighter of the two sides with a 4-1 lead after 33 minutes with Dominik Benes once again making his mark on the scoresheet with 2 goals this time. Not to be undeterred however the hosts fought back and levelled the game at 4 with 2 goals from Mikko Laakso meaning heading into the third period it was all square at 4 goals each. With a late penalty shot goal and Lukas Bauer yet again standing on his head it was Mladá Boleslav who managed to hold on at 6-6 before finishing the game off with an empty net goal to start the celebrations, the win in Leg 1 proving to be decisive.
It will be the first Champions Cup final for Mladá Boleslav in the history of the competition as they aim to emulate Czech rivals Tatran Stresovice by winning the greatest prize in club Floorball. They will await the winner of Pixbo and SV Wiler-Ersigen who play in Semi-Final 2.
SV Wiler-Ersigen Vs Pixbo
In the Quarterfinals against Oilers, Pixbo away from home won in Overtime on a Gustav Fritzell goal assisted by Oskar Weissbach. In the Semi-Finals it happened yet again this time meaning Pixbo return to the Men’s Champions Cup final after 20 years of waiting back when the competition was called the European Cup. Back in 2004-2005 they lost in the final to SV Wiler-Ersigen but it’s a bittersweet story as the Swedish side beat them to progress to the final themselves.
After a comfortable Game 1 victory Pixbo came into Game 2 full of confidence which showed as they sent the home Swiss crowd into silence by storming out to a 4 goal lead in the first 20 minutes. Fully in control and even forcing mistakes from Wiler-Ersigen, Pixbo looked set to be well on their way to the final before the wheels finally started turning for the hosts. 2 powerplay goals in a row and an incredible 3rd period from SV Wiler-Ersigen left Pixbo unable to respond with brilliant strikes by Radek Sikora and Jan Burki turning a 0-4 deficit into a 6-4 win by the end of the 60 minutes. Game 2 heading to SV Wiler-Ersigen. After 1 win each, it could only lead to 1 thing, Overtime. Despite the momentum being fully with the Swiss hosts, Pixbo did well to control possession as much as possible and take the noise out of the crowd until they struck in a picture perfect replay of the Quarterfinals, with Fritzell being set up by Weissbach to hit the winner and send the entire Pixbo bench flying onto the court in celebration yet again.
Pixbo head back to the final of Men’s European elite club Floorball for the first time in 20 years and will look to win the trophy back that has been missing from their cabinet for 21 years.
