- Frölunda crowned champions for a fourth time!
- Three goals in four minutes at the end of the first period enough to secure victory for Frölunda
- Mountfield with a strong performance in their first final appearance despite the loss
Only one team can be crowned winners of the 2019/20 Champions Hockey League, and with the final in Hradec Králové, Mountfield HK hosted the Frölunda Indians to see who would be lifting the trophy at the end of the night.
The two teams had recent history as well as the shared a win each back in the Group Stage as the two teams progressed out of Group H.
It was the first appearance in the final for Mountfield, who previously have never made it out of the Group Stage previously and are only the second team from the Czech Republic to make it to the final, while Frölunda came into their fifth final, searching for their fourth title, and looking to defend their title they earned last season against Red Bull Munich.
In front of packed arena that sold out in just minutes after the tickets were released, the puck dropped and the final of the Champions Hockey League was underway at the ČPP Arena.
The start to the game was as energetic as the capacity crowd, with both teams aggressive on the forecheck but defensively the teams were strong in the opening passages of play, getting sticks in shooting lanes to limit any dangerous shots on net. As Mountfield started getting some pressure, they found themselves heading to the powerplay as David Printz of Frölunda took a penalty, and despite a poor start to the man advantage, eventually Mountfield broker through.
As Mountfield entered the zone, Filip Pavlík found Petr Koukal with a great pass to the slot, and Koukal buried his chance past Johan Mattsson for the opening score of the game, firing his shot past the blocker of the Frölunda goalie for his second goal of the season.
Later in the period, Frölunda responded with a powerplay goal of their own. It wasn’t the prettiest of goals as Ryan Lasch’s effort on net had the sting taken out of it on a good defensive poke check by Mountfield, but it still made its way towards the crease where X was waiting and greatfully tapped it into the open net to tie things up, and with the moment on their side, Frölunda continued to plug away, and that resulted in another goal as a shot by Anders Grönlund was stopped out in front, falling to Max Friberg who slotted the puck past Mazanec who was scrambling to track the puck after the initial block to give the reigning champions Frölunda a 2-1 lead.
Mountfield tried to issue a response, with a big hit coming in on Samuel Fagemo, but as they tried clearing the puck through the middle of the ice, Viktor Ekbom fired a one timer from the high slot, taking a tip in front by Johan Sundström to beat Mazanec for the third time to give the reigning champions Frölunda a 3-1 lead heading into the second period with three goals in the last four minutes of the opening frame.
Neither side could add to their goal totals through the second period as both Marek Mazanec and Johan Mattsson put in strong performances in middle 20 minutes of play, with Frölunda holding their 3-1 advantage heading into the third period where they would begin on the powerplay.
Mountfield killed the penalty early in the third, and a defensive game continued, with neitherside wanting make the next mistake that could let Mountfield back into the game if they pulled one back, or extend the lead for Frölunda who were edging closer to their fourth title with every second that passed.
Joel Mustonen came close to giving Frölunda the fourth goal they were searching for, jumping on a loose puck after a defensive breakdown, but he couldn't capitalise as Mazanec got a piece of the shot to keep it a 3-1 game inside the final 10 minutes.
Frölunda looked content to hold onto their league, not rushing anything but still tryign to grab a fourth where they could, frustrating Mountfield who couldn't break through a solid defensive performance all night long, and a late penalty didn't help matters leaving the hosts for the Final just over two minutes to try and tie things up.
Mountfield were looking to get the extra attack and pull Marek Mazanec to the bench, but Frölunda kept the puck well and forechecked hard when they could, eating away a minute of time that Mountfield could've spent using a man advantage, and when they eventually got the puck down the other end of the ice it was too little too late, and the Frölunda Indians wouldn't be denied their chance to defend their title, securing their second straight and fourth ever Champions Hockey League crown, defeating Mountfield HK 3-1 in the Grand Final.