WEEKLY RECAP: SEMI FINALS
Örebro/Skellefteå
Coming into the week Örebro was looking at a 1-0 series lead against the higher seeded Skellefteå after a 5-2 victory in game one. Game two came on Monday evening as the series shifted back to Örebro, as they were looking to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
They got off to a dream start in the game and entertained the hometown fans as they potted a pair of goals in the first period. The second was quiet on the offensive front but the third period would result in a turn around in the game. Tom Kühnhackl was able to pull Skellefteå back within one just over four minutes into the final frame of regulation. It was his second goal in the past three games. It didn't take long for Skellefteå to find the game tying goal as Jonathan Johnson would ripple the mesh about four and a half minutes later. Neither team would be able to break the deadlock before the final buzzer and the game would head to OT. It was a very short extra period as Mathias Bromé would play overtime hero under three minutes into the first period as Örebro would increase their series lead to two.
Game three was back in Skellefteå, who was staring down the possibility of going down three games to none, however they prevented that from happening in a big way. Linus Söderström was in fine form all game long as he managed to turn away all 27 shots he faced in the game and came away with the shutout. A trio of goals from Skellefteå was more than enough to secure the victory and pull the series back within reach.
It was a similar story on Friday as a high paced match in Örebro would result in a low scoring affair. In fact, just a single goal would find its way in and that came courtesy Elias Salomonsson who put Skellefteå on top 1-0 in the later half of the second period. That would be all the offence the game would see as Linus Söderström would once again come away with the shutout, his fourth of the post season.
Game five would be a similar nail biting and tight contest as the series shifted back to Skellefteå with both teams looking to take the 3-2 series lead. The big stat line from the game on Sunday afternoon was the shot total that saw Skellefteå pepper the Örebro net with 53 shots on target. Despite the heavily lopsided shot clock, including a 13-2 deficit in the first period, the game would head to overtime locked at 2. The first overtime period would continue the trend of Skellefteå heavily outshooting Örebro, but despite that fact, they were unable to break the deadlock in the first frame of OT. Unfortunately for Jhonas Enroth, who had made 50 saves up to that point, there was one that got past him early in the 5th period. A shot from Jonathan Pudas would find its way home less than a minute into double OT and Skellefteå would take the 3-2 series lead. Game six goes tonight at 7:30 as Örebro looks to tie up the series at home and force a decisive game 7.
Växjö/Frölunda
Unlike the other series, this one came in to the week on even footing as both teams had managed a win in the opening pair of games.
Game three took place on Tuesday evening in Växjö. Frölunda, however, would be the one to come away with a reason to celebrate. Despite being outshot 15-27, it would be Frölunda who would be the only team to find the back of the net. It would be Ryan Lasch, with his second goal in as many games, who would ripple the mesh just over five minutes into the first frame. The rest of the game saw a stellar performance by Lasse Johansson between the pipes for Frölunda, who turned away all the shots he faced. Despite the lopsided shot clock, Frölunda was able to hold on and come away with the narrow victory to take the 2-1 lead in the series.
Game four shifted back to Gothenburg for a matchup in front of a packed house at Scandinavium, the fifth straight sellout in the arena. Unfortunately for the home town fans, The Lakers would flip the script from game three and come away with their own shutout victory. It didn't take long to quiet the hometown crowd as Erik Josefsson would score just under three minutes into the game. And additional tally by Joachim Blichfeld in the second period would be more than enough for the Lakers as they came away with the 2-0 victory, tying the series at two games each. Emil Larmi turned aside all 27 shots he faced for his 10th shutout of the season. This was also just the Lakers second victory in their past 15 games in Scandinavium.
Game five was back in Växjö and the Lakers were trying to back to their winning ways at home. They had their work cut out for them as they entered the third period down by a score of 2-1. It was a stellar start to the final frame of regulation for the Lakers as they potted a pair of goals in just over two minutes to take the 3-2 lead. They were able to hold off Frölunda for the remainder of the period and give themselves the 3-2 series lead.
With everything on the line on Monday evening in Gothenburg, both teams came out firing on all cylinders in a high energy affair. Once again, Scandanavium was packed to the rafters for their sixth straight sellout this playoffs. However, Frölunda was missing their Captain as Joel Lundqvist was handed a three game suspension after a head hit in game 5, and was forced to watch this game from the sidelines. The game would be back and forth right from the get go and neither team was able to muster much offence. Both teams would score just a single goal in regulation and so the game would go to overtime. Unfortunately for Joel Lundqvist, who announced his retirement earlier this season, he would have to watch his long and illustrious career come to an end from the sidelines. A beautiful cross ice pass to Robert Rosén would get banged home in the second half of the overtime frame and the Växjö Lakers punched their ticket to the finals. They will now be looking to win their fourth Swedish title since 2016.
