No Finnish teams made it to the Champions Cup semi-finals as Swedish club teams dominated the Northern Conference quarterfinals. The semi-finalists from the Northern Conference are Thorengruppen and Pixbo IBK on the women’s side and IBF Falun and Storvreta IBK on the men’s side.
Esport Oilers v IBF Falun
In a thrilling encounter, IBF Falun and Esport Oilers showcased their skills, resulting in a high-scoring and action-packed game. Oilers knew they had to win in regular time to take things to overtime as it would have meant they are still in the battle for making it to the semi-finals. Falun finally qualified for the semi-finals after a successful penalty shootout.
The match kicked off with both teams eager to establish early dominance. Home team Oilers struck first at 12:29 with a power-play goal from Waltteri Vesterinen, assisted by Tuomas Iiskola, giving them a 1-0 lead. Falun responded quickly, leveling the score at 14:12 with a goal from Lukas Rosenklint, assisted by Calle Inglander. But around one minute later, Oliver Sillanpää took the hosts back to the lead, first period ending 2-1 for Oilers.
Second period was a penalty-fest and this confused the flow of the game. Elias Pekari was the only one to score in the second period and when Markus Salmi scored after only 33 seconds in the third period, Oilers found themselves already from a 4-1 lead. However Falun got closer with goals from Emil Lundmark and captain Emil Johansson but Oilers made sure they will take the needed win in regular time. Vesterinen scored a short-handed goal and Iiskola made it 6-3. This meant that the winner had to be decided in overtime (no goals) and finally in a penalty shootout.
In the shootout, IBF Falun emerged victorious, scoring 3 out of 5 attempts. Goal scorers were Ahmad Dakhallah, Emil Ruud and Johansson and Carl Bending-Sorling took the needed saves to help his team advance to the semi-finals.
Classic v Pixbo IBK
In an exciting floorball match, Pixbo IBK triumphed over Classic with a final score of 8-5. The game featured a series of back-and-forth goals, showcasing the skills and determination of both teams.
The match began with a penalty shot by Mira Markström at 12:51, giving Pixbo an early lead of 1-0. Pixbo added their lead when Ebba Bognesand scored less than one minute later. The Foxes of Pixbo continued to build momentum, but Classic opened the score at 16:43, when Veera Markala made it 1-2.
The second period saw Classic fight back, with Suvi Hämäläinen scoring at 20:47 to tie the game at 2-2. Cajsa Elm responded quickly and made it 2-3 but Vilja Kuutniemi equalised. Pixbo regained the lead with a goal from Emma Stenberg at 26:36, assisted by Markstrom. The scoring continued as Classic equalized once more at 28:34 with a power-play goal from Natalia Pitkäkangas.
The final period was action-packed, with Elm and Markstrom scoring to regain the lead at 6-4. Classic continued to battle, but Pixbo extended their lead with goals from Celine Stettler and Stenberg, bringing the score to 8-5. The match concluded with defending champions securing the victory and qualifying for the Champions Cup semi-finals.
Storvreta IBK v Nokian KrP
In an exhilarating second quarterfinal match, Storvreta IBK hosted Nokian KrP and secured a decisive victory, winning 9-4 and advancing to the semi-finals.
The match began with a strong offensive display from both teams. Storvreta struck first at 03:09 with a goal from Simon Gotz, assisted by Sakarias Ulriksson, taking an early 1-0 lead. Storvreta kept the control in the first period with Otto Weidman scoring at 16:19 to make it 2-0. The second period saw Storvreta maintain their momentum, as Filip Langer scored at 26:05, extending their lead to 3-0 and Weidman making it 4-0. Aapo Kilpeläinen opened the score for Nokian KrP at 13:43 but Storvreta had the final say in the second period with 5-1 goal from Filip Eriksson.
The final period began with two quick goals from Nokian KrP as first Juuso Ahola and then Valte Karvonen (assisted by Ahola) found the net. The good phase from Nokian ended when they got on penalty kill. Langer scored his second on power-play and Ulriksson scored two more. Nokian managed to score one more after a timeout but Eriksson scored at 19:37, extending Storvreta’s lead to 9-4. Nokian KrP fought back, but their efforts were not enough to close the gap. The match ended with Storvreta IBK celebrating their victory and qualification for the semi-finals.
Champions Cup continues with Southern Conference quarterfinals that kick off on the 20th September.
