J20 SuperElit

Infobox sports league
title = J20 SuperElit

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sport = Ice hockey
founded = ?
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teams = 20
country = SWE
champion = Frölunda HC
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website =
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J20 SuperElit is a junior ice hockey league composed of 20 teams in Sweden. It is the highest-level junior ice hockey league in Sweden. The teams are divided in two groups, or divisions, "Norra" (North) and "Södra" (South), and are usually associated with a professional team in either Elitserien or HockeyAllsvenskan in order to develop talented youth for the professional teams. The winner of the J20 SuperElit playoffs are awarded the Anton Cup.

Game

Each J20 SuperElit regulation game is an ice hockey game played between two teams and is 60 minutes long. The game is composed of three 20-minute periods. At the end of the 60-minute regulation time, the team with the most goals wins the game. If a game is tied after regulation time, overtime ensues. During the regular season, overtime is a five-minute, four-player on four-player sudden death period, in which the first team to score a goal wins the game.

In the playoffs, one sudden-death 20 minute five-on-five period occur until one team scores. If both teams are tied after the 20 minutes of overtime, penalty shots ensues. Best of five penalty shots wins, if both teams are still tied sudden death penalties will ensue.

Teams

The J20 SuperElit currently consists of 20 teams. The two lowest ranked teams after the regular season have to play in the regulation series "Norra" and "Södra" together with four teams from the second tier league J20 Elit. The top teams of group "Norra" and "Södra" qualify for the next J20 SuperElit season, while the other four are demoted to J20 Elit. Theoretically, there is a possibility that two 'new' teams will play in J20 SuperElit at the beginning of each season.

2008–09 season

eason structure

The J20 SuperElit season is divided into a regular season from mid September through the beginning of March, when teams play each other in a predefined schedule, and a playoffs from March to the beginning of April, which is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-three series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Swedish Junior Champion, or "Svenska juniormästare" in Swedish.

Regular season

In the regular season, each team plays 41 or 42 games. Points are awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for a win, one point for losing in overtime, two points for winning in overtime, and zero points for a loss in regulation. After 27 games the top four teams from group "Norra" and "Södra" advance to the "Top 8" group, where each team plays each other twice. The remaining teams from each group play in the continuation series "Norra Vår" (North Spring) and "Södra Vår" (South Spring), facing each team three times.

The eight teams from the Top 8 group and the two highest ranked teams by points in the two continuation series qualify for the playoffs. The two lowest ranked teams in the continuation series have to play in the relegation and promotion series in order to qualify for the next season of J20 SuperElit.

Playoffs

The Elitserien Playoffs is an elimination tournament, where two teams battle to win a best-of-three series in order to advance to the next round. The first round of the playoffs are the pre-qualifications for quarterfinals, which consists of the fifth to eight ranked teams in the Top 8 group playing the four teams from the continuation series. In the second round, or quarterfinals, the first to fourth seeded teams from the Top 8 group chooses which of the winning teams from round one to play. In the third round, the semifinals, the teams are re-seeded, with the top remaining seed choose which of the lowest remaining seed to play, and the other two remaining teams pairing off. In the fourth round, the finals, the two remaining teams face each other.

In each round the higher-ranked team is said to be the team with the home-ice advantage. Two of the three games are played at this team's home venue — the second, and, when necessary, the third games — with the first game played at the lower-ranked team's home venue.

Trophies and awards

At the end of the J20 SuperElit playoffs the Swedish Junior Champions are awarded the Anton Cup.

References

*

External links

* [http://stats.swehockey.se/ Official statistics]