2011 European Trophy
The 2011 European Trophy was the second European Trophy, a European ice hockey tournament held annually. It was also the sixth tournament since its predecessor, the Nordic Trophy, was launched in 2006. The regulation round began on 11 August 2011 and ended on 6 September 2011. The [|playoffs], which took place in Austria, were played 16–18 December 2011 in the Eisarena Salzburg in Salzburg, and the Albert Schultz Eishalle in Vienna, at the same time as the 2011 Channel One Cup. The playoff hosts, EC [Red Bull Salzburg|Red Bull Salzburg], won the playoffs and captured their first championship title in the European Trophy tournament, having lost in the quarterfinals last year.
A significant difference in this year's tournament was that the number of participating teams was increased from 18 to 24. To compensate this, the teams were divided into four divisions this year, instead of just two in the previous year's tournament. Another difference was that the playoffs, known as the Red Bulls Salute, were not played at the same time as the regulation round—the regulation round was played between August–September 2011, while the playoffs were played in December, three months later. Further, the junior edition was disbanded prior to this year's tournament.
Tournament format
The 24 teams in the tournament were, based on geographical location, divided into four divisions: the West Division, the North Division, the South Division, and the East Division. Each division consisted of 6 teams who played a round-robin in their division, and another three games against teams from the other three divisions, giving a total of 8 games per team. The top two teams of each division qualified for the playoffs, but as Red Bull Salzburg qualified for the playoffs as hosts, they replaced the worst second ranked team out of all four divisions, which was Eisbären Berlin.Had at least two teams in the same division ended up tied in points, the following tie-breaker format was used:
- Best goal difference
- Most goals scored in total
- Results in games against the tied teams
- Drawing of lots
Participating clubs
| Division | Team | City | Home arena | Capacity | Joined NT/ET | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| North | Djurgårdens IF |  Regulation round[|West Division]All times for the games played in Finland are UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.[|North Division]All times for the games played in Finland are UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.[|South Division]All times are local.East DivisionAll times for the games played in Finland are UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.Division vs. Division gamesWest Division vs. North DivisionAll times for the games played in Finland are UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.West Division vs. South DivisionTime for the game played in Finland is UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.West Division vs. East DivisionTime for the game played in Finland is UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.North Division vs. South DivisionAll times are local.North Division vs. East DivisionAll times for the games played in Finland are UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.South Division vs. East DivisionTime for the game played in Finland is UTC+3, while all times for the other games are UTC+2.PlayoffsThe playoffs are played as the Red Bulls Salute and take place in Salzburg and Vienna between 16–18 December 2011. The teams that lose the quarterfinals play in the classification games. The classification games decide which teams play in the respective games for 7th place and 5th place.QuarterfinalsAll times are local.Classification gamesAll times are local.SemifinalsAll times are local.7th place gameTime is local.5th place gameTime is local.Bronze medal gameTime is local.Gold medal gameTime is local.Ranking and statisticsFinal standingsThe final standings of the tournament:
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