Plenty of Nothing

Åland Autonomy Day

The parliament of the Åland Isalnds first met 100 years ago today. Source.

1955 Vasaloppet Pin

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Norrbotten Tourist Information Centre

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Motion Capture ABBA

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Norrbotten Regiment

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Margit Nordin

Margit Nordin became the first woman to race in the Vasaloppet on March 4, 1923. Source.

The Alunda Elk

This stone moose head was carved around 2000 BC and found in 1920 in Uppland, Sweden.

Skellefteå in the Champions Hockey League

Skellefteå versus Tychy last year. You can tell it's the Champions Hockey League because everybody has a red arm. Source.

Last season we followed the Continental Cup, the championship tournament for lower tier European hockey clubs. Now let's follow the top European club tournament, the Champions Hockey League.

The Champions Hockey League runs from August to February, concurrent with the national leagues. The tournament begins with 32 top European teams in a group stage, from which 16 emerge to participate in four rounds of playoffs to decide the champion. Top-ranked leagues (read Sweden and Finland) contribute as many as five teams, while the lowest-ranked get one apiece. Clubs from 13 countries are involved in this year's tournament.

The winner of the previous Continental Cup is reserved a place in the Champions Hockey League. However, last year's Continental Cup winner Arlan Kokshetau are not eligible, and the place has gone to runners-up Belfast Giants instead. Teams from Kazakhstan are not invited to the Champions Hockey League because the travel is too much for some of the other clubs, which probably explains why the KHL clubs are also not in this tournament.

Skellefteå AIK, from Northern Sweden, are in the Champions Hockey League for the fifth time in six years. They qualify as fifth-place finalists in the Swedish league last year. They are in Group E with Oulun Kärpät (who finished first in the regular season in Finland), SC Bern (last year's playoff champs in Switzerland), and French champion Brûleurs de Loups from Grenoble. Only two teams will advance from the group, and though Grenoble are bound to finish bottom Skellefteå will have a hard time getting past either Kärpät or Bern.

Each team in a group plays each opponent once at home and once away. The group stage goes on into October. Games this weekend:

Skellefteå 2 - 2 Bern (Aug 30) SAIK won SO.

Kärpät 3 - 1 Grenoble (Aug 30)

Skellefteå [1 - 2] Grenoble (Sept 1)

Kärpät [2 - 3] Bern (Sept 1) [Bern won in OT.]

[Following these games the Group E standings are:

                       G       GD     Pts

Kärpät             2       +1       4

Bern                2        0        3

Grenoble         2       -1        3

Skellefteå        2        0        2    ]

Skellefteå in the Champions Hockey League so far:

2014-15

GS    2014/8/21      Krefeld Pinguine 1 - 2 Skellefteå

GS    2014/8/23      SønderjyskE 1 - 4 Skellefteå

GS    2014/9/4        Skellefteå 4 - 1 SønderjyskE

GS    2014/9/6        Skellefteå 4 - 0 Krefeld Pinguine

GS    2014/9/24      Skellefteå 3 - 0 HIFK

GS    2014/10/7      HIFK 5 - 3 Skellefteå

16     2014/11/4      JYP 4 - 5 Skellefteå

16     2014/11/11    Skellefteå 3 - 2 JYP (Skellefteå won SO.)

QF    2014/12/2      Linköping 1 - 2 Skellefteå

QF    2014/12/9      Skellefteå 3 - 4 Linköping (Skellefteå won SO.)

SF    2015/1/13      Skellefteå 2 - 2 Luleå

SF    2015/1/20      Luleå 3 - 2 Skellefteå

2015-16

GS    2015/8/21      Nitra 2 - 4 Skellefteå

GS    2015/8/23      Liberec 0 - 4 Skellefteå

GS    2015/8/27      Skellefteå 2 - 2 Nitra (Skellefteå won SO.)

GS    2015/9/5        Skellefteå 5 - 2 Liberec

32     2015/9/22      Košice 4 - 3 Skellefteå

32     2015/10/6      Skellefteå 3 - 0 Košice

16     2015/11/3      Eisbären Berlin 2 - 5 Skellefteå

16     2015/11/10    Skellefteå 2 - 1 Eisbären Berlin

QF    2015/12/1      Davos 1 - 1 Skellefteå

QF    2015/12/8      Skellefteå 1 - 4 Davos

2016-17

GS    2016/8/18      Vienna Capitals 3 - 2 Skellefteå

GS    2016/8/20      KalPa 1 - 2 Skellefteå

GS    2016/8/27      Skellefteå 4 - 0 KalPa

GS    2016/9/7        Skellefteå 2 - 5 Vienna Capitals

32     2016/10/4      JYP 4 - 0 Skellefteå

32     2016/10/11    Skellefteå 4 - 2 JYP

2018-19

GS    2018/8/31      Bolzano 3 - 3 Skellefteå (Bolzano won SO.)

GS    2018/9/2        Tychy 1 - 8 Skellefteå

GS    2018/9/6        Skellefteå 6 - 2 Tychy

GS    2018/9/8        Skellefteå 2 - 1 Bolzano

GS    2018/10/9      HIFK 1 - 5 Skellefteå

GS    2018/10/16    Skellefteå 3 - 4 HIFK

16     2018/11/6      Storhamar Dragons 4 - 4 Skellefteå

16     2018/11/20    Skellefteå 3 - 2 Storhamar Dragons

QF    2018/12/4      Skellefteå 3 - 3 Plzeň

QF    2018/12/11    Plzeň 1 - 1 Skellefteå (Plzeň won SO.)

Source: German Wikipedia

Midsummer in Sweden Hills

It's Midsummer in Sweden, and also in Sweden Hills, Hokkaido. Read.

Sweden's First Satellite

Sweden's first satellite, Viking, was launched on this date in 1986. Source.