Swedish clubs Frolunda Gothenburg and Lulea Hockey have advanced to the Champions Hockey League final after securing victories in the second legs of their semi-finals on Tuesday over Brynas Gavle and EV Zug, respectively. Both semis were up for grabs until fairly late, with each being decided by two goals on aggregate score.
That sets up a rematch of the 2014-15 final.
Frolunda Gothenburg (SWE) def. Brynas Gavle (SWE) 4-2 (2-0, 2-2)
With a stingy defensive effort on the road, Frolunda defeated Brynas 2-0 in the first game, with Lars Johansson recording the 17-save shutout. To that point, Brynas had scored two goals in four games against Frolunda this season, combining SHL and CHL results.
In the return game in Gothenburg, Brynas twice took the lead thanks to two assists from Kieffer Bellows but Isac Heens replied each time. Nicklas Backstrom, Jakob Silfverberg, Oscar Lindblom, Mattias Norlinder, Michal Kempny and Robert Hagg were held to one point combined over the two games.
“(Scoring) two goals is not something I do very often, so I’m enjoying it to the fullest,” Heens said to Swedish TV10 in the second intermission.
“We started off the first period pretty good, we were a little bit better than them,” said Brynas coach Niklas Gallstedt. “And then, in the second, we started to feed their transitions … That’s why they had, in my opinion, two goals. Otherwise, in the third, they were playing for the result so it was tough to come in there.”
π¨ GOAL π¨
— Champions Hockey League (@championshockey) January 20, 2026
Level game in Gothenburg πΈπͺ means @frolunda_hc are back in a two-goal lead in the series βοΈ#ChampionsGoBeyond pic.twitter.com/wWcvmDVo0R
Lulea Hockey (SWE) def. EV Zug (SUI) 6-4 (3-2, 3-2)
Zug entered the semis as the only remaining non-Swedish team and was also attempting to keep the European Trophy in Switzerland, following wins by Geneve-Servette and ZSC Lions Zurich the past two seasons. However, Zug fell behind the eight-ball after falling behind 3-1 in the first game on home ice. Dominik Kubalik set up Tomas Tatar for a power-play goal in the third period to make it a one-goal difference.
In the return game in northern Sweden, Lulea appeared to put it away by taking a 3-0 lead, thanks to two points from Isac Hedqvist and Brendan Shinnimin. An assist and a goal by Tatar got Zug back to within two with still a full period to play, but that’s as close as the Swiss side would get.
“We started pretty good, and then they got a couple of goals from our own mistakes, and then it was pretty tight,” Lulea forward Oskari Laaksonen said after the game. “They have good players there, so credit to them.”
“I think they were the better team overall, but I was really pleased with how we came out tonight,” said Zug coach Michael Liniger. “We had a good first shift, a good first period, but overall, we just made too many mistakes. We lost an o-zone faceoff, which led to a goal, which you can’t do against a team like Lulea. Too many penalties in the first period, and then we were chasing the game.”
π¨ GOAL π¨
— Champions Hockey League (@championshockey) January 20, 2026
The buzzer sounds! π£
Brendan Shinnimin makes it a 3-0 game and @LuleaHockey are closer to a place in #CHLFinal2026 than ever πͺ#ChampionsGoBeyond pic.twitter.com/M0piRlA4Z3
The final
With two Swedish teams in the final, this means that the CHL title will return to Sweden for the first time since Rogle Angelholm won it in 2021-22.
Lulea eliminated Frolunda in the semi-finals of last season’s Swedish Hockey League playoffs en route to the national title. This season, Frolunda sits first and Lulea sixth in the 14-team circuit. Frolunda has won two of the three head-to-head meetings with Lulea so far this season. They will meet again before the CHL final on 7 February in Lulea.
“We had a goal for today to make the final, and we did, so it’s good,” said Laaksonen. “It’s going to be a good game. They’re a good team, and hopefully there’ll be a good crowd in Scandinavium, so it’s gonna be fun.”
“It’s great to be in the final again – that’s why you play this tournament during the pre-season and all the way here,” Frolunda goalie Lars Johansson is quoted on the club’s website. “It will be exciting to face Lulea, They have grown a lot during this season, have gotten better and have played really well towards the end. I feel like it could be a bit testy too, so it should be great fun.”
The Frolunda goalie continued, “We have a goal of winning two titles this season, of winning everything we compete in. We have put ourselves in a good position and have the chance to take home the CHL here in March, then we will take it one game at a time.”
As mentioned, these two teams met in the 2014-15 final, which was the first year of the reboot of the current version of the CHL. That game, which Lulea won on home ice, was the team’s only final appearance so far. Based on the clubs’ CHL records this season, Frolunda will host this year’s final at Gothenburg’s Scandinavium on 3 March at 19:00 CET. It will be the third time that the final has been held in Gothenburg, with two of Frolunda’s previous four wins coming on home ice.
Starting this season, CHL games are streamed on IIHF.tv. You can find more information about the availability of IIHF.tv streams here.
For more information about the competition, visit the Champions Hockey League website.