The 2012 European Trophy was the third European Trophy, a European ice hockey tournament held annually. It is also the seventh tournament since its predecessor, the Nordic Trophy, was launched in 2006. The regulation round started on 31 July 2012 with the South Division game between Piráti Chomutov–Slovan Bratislava, and will end on 28 November 2012. The playoffs will be played between 13 and 16 December 2012 in Vienna and in Bratislava. The preliminary schedule for the regulation round was released on 12 April 2012.

In this year's tournament the number of participating teams was increased from 24 to 32. Also, as Red Bull Salzburg no longer hosted the playoffs for the first time in European Trophy history, they weren't guaranteed a playoff spot. Of the 128 regular round games, 20 were played mid-season (i.e. after teams had started their league seasons in their respective countries). Regarding the playoffs, there were only Quarterfinals, Semifinals as well as the Final game, meaning that the losing teams in each round were immediately eliminated from the tournament.

On 31 May 2012, Slavia Praha announced that they were pulling out of the tournament. On 18 June it was announced that Piráti Chomutov would take over Slavia Praha's spot in the South Division.

Tournament format The 32 teams in the tournament are, partly based on geographical location, divided into four divisions: the West Division, the North Division, the South Division, and the East Division. Each division consists of 8 teams who will play a round-robin in their division, with an extra game against a local rival in their division, giving a total of 8 games per team. Each team is assigned four home games as well as four road games. The top two teams of each division qualify for the playoffs; however, should Slovan Bratislava and/or Vienna Capitals qualify for the playoffs as hosts (if they fail to reach one of the top two spots of the South Division), they will replace the worst second ranked team(s) out of all four divisions.

Should at least two teams in the same division (or second-ranked teams) end up tied in points, the following tie-breaker format will be used: Best goal difference Most goals scored in total (goals forward) Results in games against the tied teams Drawing of lots

This tie-breaker format will also apply when determining which second-ranked team(s) to be replaced if the host teams Slovan Bratislava and/or Vienna Capitals fail to reach the playoffs by finishing top two in the South Division.

Playing format If a game is tied after regulation time (60 minutes), an overtime lasting for 5 minutes is played. During overtime, both teams substitute only 4 players on the ice at once (except for 3 when either of the teams has a penalized player). If no team scores during the overtime period, a shootout is played, starting with three penalty shots for both teams. If the shootout remains tied after the first three rounds, sudden death rounds are played until a winning team has been forced.

In the regulation round games, the teams get three points for a regulation-time victory, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for losing in overtime/shootout, and zero points for a regulation loss.

Prize money After the regulation round, the four division winners received €25 000 each, the four second-placed teams €20 000, and the third, fourth and fifth team of each division received €15 000, €10 000, and €5 000, respectively. Additionally, in the final of the Red Bulls Salute, the winning team received €50 000, while the losing finalist got €10 000. In total, €360 000 was given out during the entire tournament.

Participating clubs

Division Team City Home arena* Capacity Joined NT/ET North Oulun Kärpät Oulu Oulun Energia Areena 6,614 2006 Eisbären Berlin Berlin O2 World 14,200 2010 Red Bull Salzburg Salzburg Eisarena Salzburg 3,600 2010 Luleå HF Luleå Coop Norrbotten Arena 6,200 2011 Kometa Brno Brno Kajot Arena 7,200 2011 Mountfield České Budějovice České Budějovice Budvar Arena 6,421 2011 Plzeň 1929 Plzeň ČEZ Aréna 8,420 2011 Hamburg Freezers Hamburg O2 World 12,947 2012 South Linköpings HC Linköping Cloetta Center 8,500 2006 HV71 Jönköping Kinnarps Arena 7,038 2008 Sparta Praha Prague Tipsport Arena 13,150 2010 Piráti Chomutov*** Chomutov Multifunkční aréna Chomutov 5,250 2012 KalPa Kuopio Kuopion Jäähalli 5,225 2011 Slovan Bratislava Bratislava Slovnaft Arena 10,000 2011 UPC Vienna Capitals Vienna Albert Schultz Eishalle 7,000 2011 JYP Jyväskylä Synergia-areena 4,628 2012 East TPS Turku HK Arena 11,820 2006 Tappara Tampere Hakametsä Areena 7,800 2006 Djurgårdens IF Stockholm Hovet 8,094 2006 SC Bern Bern PostFinance-Arena 17,131 2010** Bílí Tygři Liberec Liberec Tipsport Arena 7,500 2011 ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice Pardubice ČEZ Aréna 10,194 2011 Brynäs IF Gävle Läkerol Arena 8,585 2012 HC Fribourg-Gottéron Fribourg BCF Arena 6,900 2012 West Färjestad BK Karlstad Löfbergs Lila Arena 8,647 2006 Frölunda Indians Gothenburg Scandinavium 12,044 2006 HIFK Helsinki Helsinki Ice Hall 8,200 2006 Jokerit Helsinki Hartwall Areena 13,349 2008 ZSC Lions Zurich Hallenstadion 10,700 2010** Adler Mannheim Mannheim SAP Arena 10,600 2010 ERC Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Saturn Arena 4,815 2012 EV Zug Zug Bossard Arena 7,015 2012 Note (*): the stated home arenas don't have to be used in the European Trophy tournament. Note (**): SC Bern and ZSC Lions did not participate in 2011. Note (***): Slavia Praha pulled out of the tournament just two months before the first games are to be played. Piráti Chomutov are replacing Slavia Praha.

Rivalries West Division Jokerit vs. HIFK Frölunda Indians vs. Färjestad BK Adler Mannheim vs. ERC Ingolstadt ZSC Lions vs. EV Zug North Division Luleå HF vs. Oulun Kärpät Hamburg Freezers vs. Eisbären Berlin Kometa Brno vs. Plzeň 1929 České Budějovice vs. Red Bull Salzburg South Division KalPa vs. JYP Linköpings HC vs. HV71 Piráti Chomutov vs. Sparta Praha Vienna Capitals vs. Slovan Bratislava East Division Tappara vs. TPS Brynäs IF vs. Djurgårdens IF Bílí Tygři Liberec vs. Pojišťovna Pardubice SC Bern vs. Fribourg-Gottéron

Regulation round     Team is qualified for the playoffs     Team is eliminated from the tournament

West Division

Games in Finland are UTC+3, while all other games are UTC+2, except the 28 October game which is UTC+1.

North Division

Games in Finland are UTC+3, while all other games are UTC+2, except the November games which are UTC+1.

South Division

Games in Finland are UTC+3, while all other games are UTC+2, except the November game which is UTC+1.

East Division

Games in Finland are UTC+3, while all other games are UTC+2, except the November games which are UTC+1.

Playoff team seeds

Playoff hosts Slovan Bratislava and Vienna Capitals qualify automatically. Four division-winners qualify. After this, best-scoring division-runners-up qualify to bring the number to exactly eight.

Winners of divisions: West: Färjestad BK North: Luleå HF South: HV71 East: Tappara

Runners-up of divisions: TeamDivision Eisbären Berlin North 8 6 0 1 1 27 15 +12 19 Brynäs IF East 8 5 0 2 1 25 20 +5 17 EV Zug West 8 4 2 0 2 30 21 +9 16 Vienna Capitals South 8 3 2 1 2 24 26 -2 14

Playoffs

The playoffs, known as the Red Bulls Salute, will take place in the Albert Schultz Eishalle, Vienna and in the Slovnaft Arena, Bratislava between 13 and 16 December 2012, with the Final game taking place in Slovnaft Arena. It will be played as a single-elimination tournament, meaning that the losing teams in each round are eliminated from the tournament. For the first time in Red Bulls Salute history, no classification/placement games will be played, so there will only be Quarterfinals, Semifinals as well as the Final game. The winner of the Red Bulls Salute will be awarded a total prize sum of €50 000, and the losing finalist receives €10 000.

Albert Schultz EishalleCapacity: 7 000 Slovnaft ArenaCapacity: 10 115 – Vienna – Bratislava

Bracket The non-home teams will be seeded according to their score in the regulation round.

Quarterfinals All times are local (UTC+1).

The quarterfinal matchups will be determined by the regulation-round record of the six playoff teams aside from the two automatically qualified hosts Slovan Bratislava and Vienna Capitals. The top-ranked team of these six teams will face the sixth-ranked team; the second-ranked team will face the fifth-ranked team; the third-ranked team will face Vienna Capitals; and the fourth-ranked team will face Slovan Bratislava.

Semifinals All times are local (UTC+1).

For quarterfinal numbering, see the bracket above.

Final

Time is local (UTC+1).

Ranking and statistics

Tournament awards

Final standings The following is the final standings of the playoffs. However, note that because there weren't any classification/placement games in this year's playoffs, the standings for the six teams that missed the Final game were ranked on the following criteria: A. whether the team made it to the Semifinal or not, and B. the team's regulation round record. Luleå HF Färjestad BK3 Tappara4 Vienna Capitals5 Slovan Bratislava6 Eisbären Berlin7 HV718 Brynäs IF

Scoring leaders List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. If the list exceeds 10 skaters because of a tie in points, all of the tied skaters are shown. Player Team GP G A Pts PIM POS Matt Foy Eisbären Berlin 2 3 2 5 0 F Antti Erkinjuntti Tappara 2 2 3 5 2 F David Hruška Piráti Chomutov 3 2 3 5 6 F Niklas Olausson Luleå HF 2 1 4 5 2 F Cam Abbott Luleå HF 2 3 1 4 25 F Tomáš Urban Bílí Tygři Liberec 3 3 1 4 4 F Milan Kraft Piráti Chomutov 3 3 1 4 2 F Jason Lepine JYP 2 2 2 4 0 D Jerome Flaake Hamburg Freezers 2 2 2 4 4 F Toni Kähkönen Oulun Kärpät 2 2 2 4 0 FGP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes; POS = Position positions: F = Forward; D = DefencemanSources: Europeantrophy.com and Eurohockey.com Updated as of 19 August 2012.

Leading goaltenders Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list. Player Team TOI SA GA GAA Sv% SO Chet Pickard Djurgårdens IF 60:00 32 0 0.00 100.00 1 Joni Ortio HIFK 60:00 30 0 0.00 100.00 1 Július Hudáček Frölunda Indians 60:00 29 0 0.00 100.00 1 Viktor Kokman HV71 60:00 27 0 0.00 100.00 1 Tomi Karhunen Oulun Kärpät 60:46 44 1 0.99 97.73 0TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = ShutoutsSources: Europeantrophy.com and Eurohockey.com Updated as of 19 August 2012.

European Star Award leaders The European Star Award is a three stars award given to the three best players in each game. The first star gets three points, the second gets two points, and the third gets one point. List shows the top ten players based on the number of European Star Award points. Player Team GP Pts POS Matt Foy Eisbären Berlin 2 5 F Cam Abbott Luleå HF 2 3 F Jack Connolly Färjestad BK 2 3 F Chris Connolly Tappara 2 3 F Chet Pickard Djurgårdens IF 1 3 G Rhett Rakhshani HV71 1 3 F Ryan Glenn Red Bull Salzburg 2 3 D Jason Lepine JYP 2 3 D Byron Ritchie SC Bern 2 3 F Ari Vallin Sparta Praha 1 3 DGP = Games played; Pts = Points; POS = Position positions: G = Goaltender; F = Forward; D = DefencemanSource: Europeantrophy.com Updated as of 19 August 2012.

References