With another week of SDHL action in the books, three teams – Luleå, Frölunda, and MoDo – have made their way to an echelon of their own atop the SDHL standings. SDE has also made considerable strides, while Djurgården, Leksand, and HV71 are fighting to get out of the league basement.
Here’s a look at this weekend’s action:
Friday, October 4
Linköping 1 – SDE 4
A fairly balanced first period saw each team come out firing, but SDE’s Lovisa Berndtsson and Linköping’s Ebba Svensson Träff stood tall between the pipes and the score remained 0-0 after one. The second frame was dominated by SDE, as they outshot their opponents 13 to 6. Each team scored one, first LHC’s Emmy Alasalmi on a feed from Haruka Toko, followed minutes later by SDE when Mimmi GilL notched her first of the season. The third period was all SDE as the team scored three goals, two on the power play, to take the victory.
Luleå 1 – MoDo 2 (Shootout)
Two of the league’s top teams clashed Friday night in Luleå; MoDo could take over second place with a win, while Luleå could inch closer to stealing the top spot from Frölunda. Luleå boasts one of the league’s most potent offences with 6 of the SDHL’s top 11 scorers, led by Viivi Vainikka’s 11 points in 6 games. The team’s power play has scored at a fearsome pace so far, connecting on 9 of 21 opportunities, for a 42% success rate. Statistically, MoDo does not have nearly as much firepower. The team’s top scorers, Ebba Hedqvist and Emma Seitz, rank 13th and 18th in the league, respectively, and the team ranks 7th on the power play having scored only once this season with the advantage. Despite their statistical disadvantage, MoDo wins hockey games. Indeed, the team has not lost in regulation time this season, its only loss coming in overtime against SDE in Week 2. MoDo wins by committee, relying on strong goaltending, relentless forecheck pressure, quick transitions and offensive opportunism to maintain their spot near the top of the league standings.
As has been the story in many games this season, this match was a goaltending duel. Both Luleå’s Sara Grahn and MoDo’s Andrea Brändli shone, each allowing a single goal in regulation time. The deadlock was only broken by a shootout, where MoDo’s Darcie Lappan notched the game winner past Grahn. With the victory, MoDo tied Luleå in the standings with one game in hand.
Skellefteå 2 – Brynäs 3 (Shootout)
Brynäs stars Hanna Thuvik and Janiina Nylund sparkled, each notching a goal and an assist before Nylund scored the game winner in the shootout. Tenacious Skellefteå stole yet another point in the standings as they took Brynäs to extra time and the shootout before eventually succumbing. Thuvik’s power play goal (Brynäs’s first on the advantage this season) made the game 1-0 late in the first period, when she walked in from below the goal line and roofed a backhand shot. Skellefteå tied it up in the second on a 5-on-3 powerplay when Marah Wagner scored her first of the season, taking two or three whacks at a loose puck before scoring behind Brynäs’ Ena Nystrøm. Brynäs’ second goal was pure opportunism when Skellefteå keeper Miranda Dahlgren handled a puck behind the net, making a short pass to her defender, who fell down. Thuvik pounced on the loose puck and threw it out to Nylund who dangled Dahlgren and scored to take the lead. Minutes later, Skellefteå’s Ida Kuoppala found herself inexplicably alone in the slot as she snapped a quick shot past Nystrøm to tie the game. Overtime solved nothing and the game went to a shootout where Nylund and Sanni Vanhanen scored to give Brynäs the win.
Saturday, October 5
Djurgården 3 – Leksand 0
Djurgården and goalkeeper Ida Boman shut out Leksand 3-0. DIF’s captain Brette Pettet contributed to all three goals, assisting on two and adding one herself. Leksand looked listless early, turning the puck over and standing flat-footed when Emma Forsgren scored the game’s first goal in transition. Leksand goaltender Ellen Jonsson made a series of excellent saves in the second period, but her team could not put one past Boman who made 23 saves on the night.
Sunday, 6 October
Luleå 4 – Brynäs 1
Luleå has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but has perhaps lacked consistency, most recently dropping their Friday game against MoDo in a shootout. Brynäs, meanwhile, has been struggling to find their offensive touch, managing only one power play goal in six games for a toothless 6% success rate on the advantage.
Luleå controlled the play early, generating shot after shot as Brynäs struggled to break out of their own zone. Despite lagging behind in possession and opportunities, Brynäs had perhaps the best scoring chance of the first period when Annie Silén’s point shot rang off the post behind a screened Frida Axell. Brynäs was awarded a power play in the period’s twelfth minute, when Luleå’s Jaycee Magwood was sent to the box for interference, but the team once again came up empty-handed on the advantage. Playing their second game in a row without the services of star defender and New York Sirens signee Maja Nylén Persson, Brynäs looked rudderless, struggling to exit their own zone or establish themselves offensively. Luleå, conversely, peppered goaltender Ena Nystrøm, outshooting their opponents 13-3 in the first period, but the score remained 0-0.
Luleå’s Linnea Johansson finally broke the deadlock early in the second period when she danced high around three Brynäs defenders and walked into the slot unmolested before snapping the puck behind Nystrøm. Minutes later, Emma Nordin made it 2-0 on the power play, finishing off a pass from Petra Nieminen with a high snipe over Nystrøm’s shoulder.
Early in the third period, Jenny Antonsson gave Brynäs hope when she pounced on a Frida Axell misplay, scoring to bring the guests within one. Luleå reestablished their 2-goal lead when Erica Rieder, left alone in the slot, converted on a Jaycee Magwood pass from below the goal line to make it 3-1. Soon after, Nordin scored again on the powerplay on a feed from Jenni Hiirikoski and the home team cruised to victory, outshooting their opponents 38 to 14. Brynäs’ power play woes continued, as the team was unable to score in nearly 13 minutes with the advantage.
Linköping 2 – Leksand 1
In a clash between two teams that have struggled to score this season, each averaging fewer than two goals per game, it was Linköping that struck first. On the power play, University of Minnesota-Duluth graduate Naomi Rogge redirected a pretty Lova Blom pass past a helpless Emma Polusny. Leksand tied it up early in the second when Saga Tynell-Nissas scored her second of the season. Linköping reestablished their lead with one second remaining in the middle frame when Rogge scored again on the advantage. Polusny kept Leksand alive throughout the game, valiantly turning aside chance after chance in an ultimately losing effort as Linköping took home the win and three points in the standings.
Skellefteå 3 – MoDo 4 (Overtime)
Newly promoted Skellefteå has been fearless this season, stealing points in the standings from established SDHL teams like Brynäs, SDE and HV71. Riding the excellent goaltending of Camryn Drever and Miranda Dahlgren, the team finds itself sitting in fifth place overall. Beating MoDo, a squad that still has not lost a game in regular time this season, would be a tall order, but Skellefteå sent a message early, scoring twice in the first period to head into the intermission up 2-0.
Halfway through the game, it was Skellefteå again, when Sini Karjalainen scored on a 5-on-3 power play to make the game 3-0 for the underdogs. Minutes later, MoDo clawed one back when Lauren Bellefontaine scored on a pass from Wilma Sundin. Teammate Ebba Hedqvist scored on the power play with five minutes remaining in the period to make it a one goal game. The third period was all MoDo as they found their legs again, outshot their opponents 13-3, and were rewarded for their efforts when Wilma Sundin scored her first of the season to complete the comeback. In overtime, Mira Hallin scored MoDo’s fourth unanswered goal past Drever with just over one minute remaining, off a nice feed from Brooke McQuigge. MoDo sealed the victory, and Skellefteå snuck off with another point in the standings.
Djurgården 2 – SDE 3 (Shootout)
Djurgården looked to continue their winning ways against SDE, after shutting out Leksand on Saturday. 18-year-old goaltender Lia Leiderö Palmlöv got the start for DIF and performed admirably against a stacked SDE offense that has yet to find consistency this season. While the team boasts the league’s second-best power play (23,08%) and a tantalising list of foreign and domestic talent, they are scoring fewer than two goals per game on average this season.
Djurgården came out strong on Sunday, outshooting SDE 11-5 in the first period and forcing Kassidy Sauvé to make some big stops. Despite giving up the game’s first (somewhat flukey) goal to Malia Schneider in the second period, DIF continued to press, tying the game at 1-1 on Brette Pettet’s fifth of the season. Minutes later, Isabelle Leijonhielm finished a 2 on 1 by dangling Sauvé, giving DIF the lead. SDE woke up in the third, outshooting DIF 16-10 and forcing young Leiderö Palmlöv to make a number of key stops. Halfway through the period, SDE’s Gabby Jones tied the game at two when she redirected a Kayleigh Hamers point shot. Overtime solved nothing and the game went to a shootout. Julie Zwarthoed scored twice for SDE, and Kassidy Sauvé allowed only one goal, giving the visitors the comeback win. Djurgården grabbed a point in the standings and looked much improved in all aspects of the game — climbing ahead of both HV71 and Leksand, while SDE assumes fourth place, 5 points behind league leaders Luleå and Frölunda.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Source Agencies
