Luleå – Fribourg 4:2 (end) | Eisbären – Gap 6:1 (end) | HV71 – SønderjyskE 7:1 (end)
Blues – Grenoble 4:2 (end) | Düsseldorf – TPS 4:5 (end) | Nitra – Liberec 0:9 (end)
Vienna – Krefeld 2:3 (2:3 after SO) | Zug – Djurgården 2:3 (end) | Genève – Storhamar 0:3 (end)
Braehead – Växjö 1:3 (end)
final
Espoo Blues
4:2 (0:1, 2:0, 2:1)
Grenoble Brûleurs de Loups
Saturday 29.08.2015, 17:30 • Barona Areena • Champions League • 4 • Group 6
     
    Blues forward Timi Lahtinen: "Of course it was important to win through good battling. We have had difficulties to score a goal but at the same time we keep believing on ourselves and shooting a lot." (20:31:26)
     
    Shots on goal in the game: Blues 49, Grenoble 16.
     
    Blues players selected Markus Poukkula as their "hero of the game".
     
    No big chances for Grenoble late in the game. French team didn't pull their goalie.
     
    Game over.
     
    59:19
    Visiting team timeout.
     
    56:43
    Hirschovits, Kuukka and Kukkonen the defending trio for Blues. Grenoble with Baylacq, Chouinard, Thinel, Bouchard and Labrecque. No goal in the power play.
     
    54:28
    In a quick succession second penalty for Blues. Korhonen to the box for tripping in the offensive zone.
     
    54:11
    Makkonen has to take a penalty to defend Grenoble from scoring.
     
    Korhonen tries to shoot, Mustukovs saves from lower left corner.
     
    53:35
    Penalty shot for Blues! Korhonen is tripped in the breakaway.
     
    Bisaillon is back on the ice, so nothing serious happened to him.
     
    53:15
    Quick attack by Blues leads to a shot by Korhonen. Easily saved my Mustukovs.
     
    52:19
    Bisaillon struggles off the ice. He had to stay for one extra shift due to icing, but that was only few seconds. He goes straight to the visiting dressing room.
     
    50:48
    Goal for Grenoble!
    JONATHAN HARTY one-times a pass by Labrecque past Engstrand. Assisted by: Dave Labrecque and Danick Bouchard.
     
    50:06
    Kukkonen, who had just ended his previous penalty, shoots the puck over glass.
     
    46:53
    Goal for the Blues!
    Tiivola finds ROOPE TAJALA in the middle of Grenoble defensive quartet, and he doesn't miss. Assisted by: Peter Tiivola and Kim Hirschovits.
     
    Double minor for Bouchard, minor for Kukkonen.
     
    45:37
    Stupid offensive zone penalty by Bouchard. who then shoots the puck when touching it for whistle. A bit of pushing ensues.
     
    45:20
    A bit of scrum ahead of Grenoble net. Blues forward Talaja loses his helmet. No penalties, faceoff to the neutral zone.
     
    42:15
    Goal for the Blues!
    Baylacq tries to equalize, fantastic defending by Kuukka. Instantly on the other end Blues scores, as TIMI LAHTINEN puts it in after Mustukovs gave a rebound on Rantakari shot. Assisted by: Otso Rantakari and Peter Tiivola.
     
    40:30
    Barlock finds Bouchard ahead of Blues net but Engstrand saves and freezes.
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    Teams back on the ice.
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    40:00
    Blues is not able to convert power play, but scored two goals in the second period, turning the situation into 2:1 lead.
     
    38:30
    Bouchard has a good shorthanded chance but his backhander is weak.
     
    37:57
    Again a late power play for Blues as Labrecque goes to the box for hooking.
     
    36:15
    Poukkula tries a one-timer on a feed by Hirschovits, shoots wide. Then Poukkula passes from behind the net to Korhonen who can't convert either.
    Markus POUKKULA - 2:1
     
    33:22
    Goal for Blues!
    A long pass by Kuukka sends MARKUS POUKKULA for a breakaway, puts a wrister past Mustukovs. Assisted by: Mikko Kuukka and Juuso Vainio.
     
    31:45
    A bad pass by Seppälä leads to attack by Grenoble. Engstrand makes an easy save on Scolari.
     
    30:36
    Lahtinen passes to Rooba who aims for a top corner. Save by Mustukovs.
     
    28:22
    Favarin is about to send his team-mate for a breakaway but it's offside and faceoff in Grenoble end.
    24:38. Kim HIRSCHOVITS - 0:1
     
    24:38
    Goal for Blues!
    Previous one was disallowed but this will count. Grenoble is about to get a penalty in the neutral zone. Quick turnaround leads to a goal by KIM HIRSCHOVITS with a wrist shot. Assisted by: Markus Poukkula and Juuso Vainio.
     
    Seems like it went off Rooba's skate. It's reviewed whether there was kicking motion or not.
     
    24:07
    Lahtinen goes from end to end, Mustukovs saves and Rooba puts the rebound in. The play is reviewed by a video goal judge.
     
    23:14
    Shot by Poukkula, Mustukovs covers it quite easily.
     
    21:43
    Liivik and Lamboley push and shove each other ahead of Grenoble net.
     
    20:01
    Start of 2nd period.
     
    Shots on goal in the first period: Blues 14, Grenoble 5.
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    17:46
    Labreqcue to the box for hooking. Blues gets power play at the end of the period.
    14:28. Christopher TARTARI - 0:1
     
    14:28
    Goal for Grenoble!
    Harty shoots from the blueline and CHRISTOPHE TARTARI re-directs it past Engstrand. Assisted by: Jonathan Harty and Danick Bouchard.
     
    12:19
    Rooba has a great chance to score Mustukovs saves it.
     
    12:00
    Blues has been better team around the halfway point of the period, but no great scoring chances yet.
     
    9:20
    A good pass by Perret to Bisaillon who shoots wide. Blues turns the puck quickly afterwards and the next faceoff is at the Grenoble zone.
     
    8:22
    Makkonen goes around the net and tries to score. Mustukovs saves and the net is dislodged soon after.
     
    4:42
    Blues has iced the puck twice in short span. Grenoble has fresher guys on the ice.
     
    4:15
    Bisaillon goes to the net. Engstrand keeps his pad on post and there's no drama.
     
    2:44
    Kuukka shoots hard from the point, Mustukovs takes the puck in his glove.
     
    1:30
    A weak shot by Labrecque in a good scoring chance.
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    Five minutes until the puck-drop; referees are on the ice.
     
    Forward Patrik Valcak represented both teams during same season. He played eight games with Blues early in 2006-07 before moving to France for the remainder of the season. He continued with Brûleurs de Loups until the end of 2007-08.
     
    Goaltender Mika Rautio played two and half seasons in Espoo from the beginning of 1994 until the end of 1995-96 season. Few years later he played a season in Grenoble, which included a visit in European Hockey League, one of the precedessors of Champions Hockey League. Nowadays he's Chairman of the Board in Blues.
     
    Defenseman Petri Pulkkinen played parts of three seasons in Espoo and two seasons in Grenoble. He shares aforementioned achievements with Lempiäinen.
     
    Forward Mikko Lempiäinen played five seasons in Espoo, two of them on top level. He was also part of the team that was promoted on top level in 1992. Later he played four seasons in Grenoble, including title-winning team in 1998.
     
    There are four players who have represented both teams on men's level: three from Finland and one from Czech Republic.
     
    The warm-ups are now over and players return to their dressing rooms.
    French practise in Finland.

    Entraînement des BDL sur la glace finlandaise.

    Posted by Brûleurs de loups on 28. srpen 2015
     
    Brûleurs de Loups was defeated in Litvinov with a score of 6-4. Dave Labrecque, who has previous Champions Hockey League experience having played in Briancon last year, netted three points.

    Brûleurs de Loups need to make adjustments to their line-up as forward Christophe Tartari, the player with more games with the team than anyone else in the current roster, injured his thumb at Litvinov. His situation will be evaluated on Monday.
     
    Blues played a close game last Sunday, but didn't manage to beat HC Litvinov goaltender Jaroslav Janus and ended the game with 0-1-loss.

    Between two Champions Hockey League meetings, Blues played one exhibition game on Tuesday, losing to SaiPa 2-3. The goals were scored by Jussi Makkonen and Peter Tiivola.

    The team has high hopes for the competition and second home loss would be undoubtedly a serious blow for the team, as it would make chances of advancing slim.

    "Champions Hockey League is a challenging series, because the style differences between the teams are much bigger than in domestic leagues, so adapting is a challenge. Brûleurs de Loups turns the game quickly and their shots and passes are very hard", Espoo Blues team manager Ilari Näckel says.
     
    Espoo Blues and Brûleurs de Loups Grenoble will be fighting to open points tally on Saturday. Blues has played one and Brûleurs de Loups two games against HC Litvinov, who is leading the group with nine points.

    The games against each other, first on this Saturday in Espoo and second on next Friday in Grenoble will likely be deciding which team will advance to the next round.
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 17:30.
    Recommend
    Commentary by

    Eero Hurmerinta

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 25. Hirschovits (Poukkula, Vainio), 34. Poukkula (Kuukka, Vainio), 43. Lahtinen (Rantakari, Tiivola), 47. Talaja (Tiivola, Hirschovits) – 15. Tartari (Harty, Bouchard), 51. Harty (Labrecque, Bouchard)

    Espoo Blues: Engstrand (Kähkönen) – Kukkonen, Rantakari, Kuukka, Vainio, Seppälä, Westermarck – Korhonen, Hirschovits, Poukkula – Talaja, Makkonen, Somervuori – Sailio, Liivik, Saari – Lahtinen, Tiivola, Rooba – Kangasniemi, Pitkänen.
    Grenoble Brûleurs de Loups: Mustukovs (Goy) – Bisaillon, Barlock, Faure, Favarin, Scolari, Harty, Favre-Felix – Chouinard, Thinel, Perret – Gauthier, Labreqcue, Bouchard – Baylacq, Kalus, Tartari – Lamirault, Lamboley, Chapuis.
    Referees: Ansons (LAT), Salonen – Kiilunen, Neva (All FIN)