The Folke Filbyter Cup is one of the top youth hockey tournaments in Sweden. It regularly showcases some of the top players in the U15 age group from across the country. Because of that, it has also become one of the premier events in all of youth hockey.
This year, clubs from the 2008 age group competed in two pools of six teams. After a five-game round robin, the top four teams from each pool advanced to an eight-team playoff. There, Södertälje managed to win back-to-back one-goal games to win the 2022 Folke Filbyter championship.
Södertälje — currently unranked in the latest World Rankings — outlasted a field that consisted of Top Swedish teams No. 1 Nacka HK, No. 3 Täby HC, No. 5 Malmö Redhawks, No. 7 Linköping HC and No. 10 SDE Hockey.
In pool play, SSK tied top-ranked Nacka 3-3 on Friday. Jonathan Sandberg tallied a goal and an assist in that game to earn a crucial point in the standings. The next day, Lucas Brauer delivered a three-point game for SSK to earn another 3-3 tie with Linköping. Holding onto a tie in both of those contests proved to be the difference in the standings. It allowed Södertälje to squeak into the playoff rounds as the 6-seed.
The top four teams from each pool advanced to the playoff rounds. The top team from each pool faced the lowest seed from the opposing pool, and the second seed faced the third seed in cross-pool matchups as well.
Södertälje proved to be the only lower seed to survive the quarterfinals with a 5-1 win over Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg. Sandberg again made his presence felt with two goals and an assist. Joel Falck, Marcus Sӧderman and Christian Furuvik added goals as well.
Continuing in its underdog role, SSK was one of four teams remaining alongside Nacka, Täby and Linköping.
Sӧderman — who hadn’t scored a goal in pool play — scored his second goal of the playoff rounds 13 minutes into the semifinal game. It tied the game at 1-1 and gave Södertälje life heading into the second half. Then, just over seven minutes into the second period, Brauer scored his fourth goal of the weekend to give SSK an eventual 2-1 win. That put the team firmly in the championship game, where they’d face Täby.
The championship game featured four lead changes. Södertälje traded blows back and forth with the higher-ranked opponent right down to the wire. They led 1-0 out of the gate. Came from behind to tie the game up at 2-2 before intermission. Let a 3-2 lead slip away with under 10 minutes to play. But with just six seconds left in regulation, Christian Furuvik tucked one home past Taby’s Caspar Lampe to give Södertälje a dramatic 4-3 upset victory.
Sandberg — who had two points in the championship — led all scorers on the weekend with 17 points. Vilmer Salén-Forsberg allowed six goals against on 41 shots in his two starts in pool play. However, when the focus shifted to elimination rounds, Salén-Forsberg elevated his play with a 1.67 goals-against average and 91.2 save percentage. He started all three playoff games for Södertälje en route to the championship.
Through the first two months of the season, Södertälje had been relatively quiet in game action. The 2008 squad was absent from the Sweden Hockey Trophy and DIF Elitcup in September. Those two events are significant ones for the age group. Through October, the only body of work on record was a 4-0-0 performance in Stockholm group play. None of those opponents were among the Swedish Top 10 teams either.
So, for Södertälje to tie the top-ranked team in the country. And then tie and defeat the No. 7 team in the country. And then defeat the No. 3 team in the country with a championship on the line? SSK made its statement loud and clear that it belongs amongst the top programs in Scandinavia and beyond.
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Each week, World Hockey Hub highlights a few of the most exciting upcoming games in youth hockey. From the hottest rivalries to the biggest tournaments, we focus on matchups that will impact the landscape among top teams in the sport.
Fresh off debuting in the 2008 Finland rankings, HPK Oranssi (8-3-2) will look to prove their position is no fluke when they meet Tappara Musta (9-3-1) for a two-game series this weekend.
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| Saturday, November 5 @ 4:45 p.m. EEST |
These two teams faced off against one another just last month, with HPK winning an offensive showdown 6-5. A victory that helped boost their profile in the world rankings. Heading into the third period clinging to a 4-3 lead, HPK doubled that margin early in the third period.
However, Tappara would strike twice in 13 seconds to knot things up 5-5. With just over three minutes remaining in the game, Tuomas Sompii tallied HPK’s sixth goal of the game for the eventual game-winner.
HPK likes to score in bunches, filling the net for five-or-more goals in four of their eight games thus far. Everi Sipilä’s balanced attack leads all HPK skaters with 18 points (9G, 9A). Nico Cape (6G, 7A), Jimi Koivisto (5G, 5A) and Mico Hjerp (2G, 8A) round out the top of the squad.
Tappara is supplied with a potent attack of their own, averaging at least four goals across all eight of their matches. HPK will be tasked with shutting down the explosive attack of Petteri Sakki. He has compiled an impressive 33 points (20G, 13A) in just eight games.
With loaded offenses like these two programs, this game has the makings of being just as explosive as their first meeting.
A top-25 matchup kicks things off this week between 2007-born teams No. 18-ranked Mount St. Charles (15-3-0) and No. 3-ranked Mississauga Senators (15-7-1).
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| Friday, November 4 @ 8:00 a.m. ET LECOM Harborcenter |
Mount has yet to suit up for any competition against programs from Canada. The Sens, on the other hand, have already experienced their fair share of American opponents.
Mount has exclusively played against teams from their country to this point in the season, and this upcoming tilt serves as an opportunity for them to test their talent against a premier team.
Facing off against some of the best from the U.S., Mississauga has skated against ranked clubs such as the Chicago Mission and Little Caesars. In contests against American teams, the Senators have compiled a 2-4-0 record.
In their last time out, the Mounties swept No. 11 Bishop Kearney Selects in a two-game series. They won 5-4 in overtime on Saturday, and then topped BK again the following day 6-2 in more convincing fashion.
It will be 11 days between games for Mississauga. They haven’t played since a 1-1 tie to Mississauga Reps last Monday. Expect a low-scoring contest here, as the Reps have allowed just 1.83 goals against in their last six games
No. 1 CSKA Moscow (20-0-0) will look to build upon their incredible run of play against No. 9 SKA Strelna (11-5-0) on Tuesday.
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| Tuesday, November 1 |
Historically, these two teams have only met eight times, with CSKA emerging as the victor each time. Tasked with stopping the juggernaut will be Strelna’s goaltending duo of Egor Sokolov and Ivan Savin. While they attempt to prevent goals, Daniil Gladikov (10G, 12A) and Timur Kazakov (12G, 9A) will lead the attack on their opponent.
CSKA’s Nikita Sinikin (27G, 30A) and Roman Andreev (27G, 22A) will be the toughest forwards to slow down. Each skater has been able to seemingly score at will. Both equipped with great hands and lethal shots, they can do damage from anywhere on the ice.
If Strelna can pull out a win, it will serve as a major point of strengthening its resume. Perhaps more importantly, it can serve as a notice to other teams that CSKA is indeed beatable.
Two Eastern Hockey Federation (EHF) foes will take part in a two-game series this weekend at Chelsea Piers in Connecticut. The No. 16 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers (12-0-1) and No. 17 Boston Terriers (11-2-0) — both winners of six straight — come into this contest in the hopes of separating from one another.
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| Saturday, November 5 @ 11:30 a.m. ET Chelsea Piers |
Mid-Fairfield’s plus-91 goal differential is a daunting stat on paper. However, their opponent in the Terriers have a track record of holding their own as well. Boston has built a plus-41 differential over its last seven games, and hasn’t allowed more than two goals against in more than two weeks.
With two games scheduled just three hours apart, tensions between these two could be high on Saturday. The matchups give the youth hockey world back-to-back looks at two top American teams.
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