The teams progressing to the 2019/20 Champions Hockey League Playoffs have been determined, but ahead of Game Day 6 of the Group Stage there were still 10 spots up for grabs.
In Group E, three teams were still in contention to move on which set up for a thrilling game between Skellefteå AIK and Kärpät Oulu.
After 60 minutes of action, neither team could gain an advantage so it went all the way to a shootout where Michal Krištof secured the extra point for Kärpät, but despite the victory it didn’t guarantee their spot in the next round.
Skellefteå stayed top of the Group with Kärpät joining them on 11-points, but with SC Bern defeating Grenoble it pushed the Swiss side ahead of Kärpät to deny the Finnish side a spot in the Playoffs. After a tightly fought contest, Skellefteå did enough to secure top spot despite the loss.
“It was a tough game.” Forward Linus Lindström said following the game. “They scored two goals in the first period but we managed to get back and get that important point.”
“Winning the group is a big thing for us. This is really tough tournament so we'll take every point we can. We'll see what team we will face and what kind of game we gonna play. Anyway it is a fun tournament so I'm looking forward for those games.”
"For me CHL has been a new and great experience. It has been really interesting to face other top teams across Europe"Topi Niemelä
With just under 10 minutes left in regulation, Topi Niemelä put Kärpät ahead, looking like it could have given his side the three points, but a goal in the final minute by Lindström forced overtime.
“It's a bit disappointment of course because those three points would have been really important for us.” Niemelä said following the shootout win. “Now we’re just going to wait how the other game will end.”
Unfortunately for Kärpät, their fate was no longer in their hands, and as SC Bern completed a 3-1 win over Grenoble, Kärpät’s CHL season came to an end.
“For me CHL has been a new and great experience. It has been really interesting to face other top teams across Europe.”