Storhamar Hockey – Stavanger Oilers 27-02-2025

The biggest match in the Hockey Eliteserien in Norway is coming up, when Storhamar takes on Stavanger in a match at CC Amfi (formerly Hamar Olympiske Amfi). In fact, the series was decided in the previous round of the series when Storhamar defeated Comet 11-0.

Stavanger, who are second, cannot catch up with them in the regular season. But now it's all about the psychological aspect towards the playoffs. We believe that even though the series is decided, this will soon be a game with a lot of action.

Storhamar – Rarely been more sovereign.

This Storhamar team has rarely been more dominant than they have been this season. If they ever have been? The team decided the league title in the last round when they completely overran the bottom team Comet.

It has been a little kept secret that the league gold medal was going to Hamar this year. But that they now lead by 15 points with two league rounds to go. Perhaps not everyone had imagined that. But the answer is actually so simple that this is the team that has scored the most 187, and conceded the least 61. Especially the last number is a lot of the reason. That they have conceded only 61 goals in 41 games is the number that separates them the most from their opponents. There is no one else who is close to this. Simply a solid team.

The team is well-made, and has many point pickers in the team. They have a nice mix of Norwegian local players, as well as players from the big hockey nations like Sweden and the USA. Especially the Americans Schneider and Cangelosi have been good. But also the former Norwegian NHL player Andreas Martinsen (who I have been allowed to play with, albeit a Christmas cup for Hippos Hockey), has been good. He brings a lot of physics, but also contributed a lot in the offensive.

The composition of this team makes Storhamar one of the most complete teams we have seen in Norwegian hockey in a while. They are following up on their good season from last year, when they also won.

This team is built over time.

Stavanger – Disciples of Oil.

Stavanger is the team that was created as a kind of answer to the bad investment of Viking Hockey. Even though the team had to go through the ranks, it was the oil money and the Finnish players that created this team. There is no doubt about that.

It has adjusted somewhat, and the team has had to build in a healthy way in recent years. The undersigned still remembers their breakthrough season when they knocked out TIK (Trondheim Ishockey klubb) in the quarterfinals in 2003. Their first season in the top league. The next round, however, it was the opposing team that they meet here that pulled the longest straw. Since then, both of these clubs have established themselves as regular fixtures in the top league of Norway.

In recent years, there is little doubt that these are the teams that have been in the mix. Storhamar has since the 22/23 season passed Stavanger as the best team of these. But Stavanger will certainly try to do something about it towards the playoffs. This match could be a good match in that sense, because now it will be about the psychological aspect going forward. Who will have the upper hand? That will be what this match is about.

We think that Stavanger will still have a tough time against this opponent, who they have struggled with this season. The team concedes quite a bit more than their opponent, and scores a little less. 171-91 means that they are well behind in the +/- statistics.

Let's look at why they lose this one.

Conclusion – The takeover is one-sided.

As we have now understood, Storhamar is the better team of these two this year. Stavanger is still fighting for 2nd place, while Storhamar has already won. We think Storhamar could have thought of getting Stavanger further down the table. Something they have the opportunity to influence with a win here. It could have a big impact on how the playoffs look.

If you take into account the internal matches this season, you see that Stavanger won the first 3-2, after that Storhamar won the next 3 with 4-2, 0-1 and 5-2.

We therefore try the following games in this one.

Hockey at 18:30: Storhamar Hockey – Stavanger Oilers: Storhamar Hockey wins (1.70)