Luleå and Frölunda Separating From the Pack

Luleå’s fifth and sixth straight victories cement their spot at top of standings; Frölunda wins statement game to take sole possession of second place; Holopainen’s goal gives her 30 points in 20 games to lead scoring race.

Djurgården 0 – Luleå 1

Home team Djurgården gave league leaders Luleå a run for their money, and kept the game close for 60 minutes. DIF’s team defense has improved exponentially since the start of the season, limiting scoring chances and generating turnovers. Captain Brette Pettet was afforded a number of high value scoring chances against Luleå, but could not beat the stellar goaltending of Frida Axell. Axell’s stats this season are outstanding: she is 10-0 with a 0.50 goals against average, a .946 save percentage and three shutouts. While she faced only 17 shots against Djurgården, she was forced to make a handful of big saves, and to overcome long stretches with no shots.  The lone goal of the game was scored by Luleå’s star defender Jenni Hiirikoski, who snapped it home with her signature wrist shot off a faceoff. The win was Luleå’s fifth in a row.

HV71 4 – Brynäs 5 OT

HV, desperate for their first win in eight games, came out firing and found twine early. They scored three goals in the opening seven minutes to chase Brynäs goaltender Ena Nystrøm and take a 3-0 lead. In the second period, Brynäs began to claw their way back and outshot HV 12-3. Their efforts were rewarded towards the end of the frame as Fanni Garát-Gasparics scored her first goal of the season in her second game since returning to the SDHL. In the third period, HV71, still up 3-1, retreated into a defensive shell. Their passivity allowed Brynäs speedster Sara Cajanova to score her fourth of the season when she drove wide around a defender before putting the puck past Van Noort to make it 3-2. With 9:17 remaining in the third period, HV restored their two-goal lead when Julia Nearis scored her second of the game on a beautiful tip from the slot to make it 4-2 HV. Only a minute later, Brynäs scored again to make it 4-3. On the power play with just over three minutes remaining in the game, Brynäs veteran Jenni Antonsson scored from the doorstep to knot the score at 4-4. In overtime, Celine Tedenby and Garát-Gasparics were handed a 2-on-1 opportunity. Tedenby made no mistake, scoring to complete Brynäs’ comeback. With the 5-4 win, Brynäs briefly moved into fourth place in the standings, but ended the day in fifth place behind Skellefteå.

Frölunda 3 – MoDo 2

Frölunda’s top line of Andrea Dalen, Hanna Olsson and Michelle Karvinen is a formidable one — Dalen’s size, vision and strength, Olsson’s world class scoring and Karvinen’s otherworldly game sense and skills make them perhaps the best line in the league. Frölunda’s second line is nothing to sneeze at either: the dual scoring threats of Elisa Holopainen and Sofie Lundin, plus one of either speedy Emilia Vesa or Edit Danielsson would be the best line on many other teams in the league. Sunday’s matchup between top teams MoDo and Frölunda gave the second line their chance to shine. Frölunda stumbled out of the gate, allowing MoDo’s Lauren Bellefontaine to score the game’s opening goal, but settled in after that as their big guns went to work. Less than 30 seconds after MoDo’s opening goal, Frölunda’s Lundin was awarded a penalty shot and coldly converted to make the score 1-1. MoDo had a chance to retake the lead on a late-period power play, but instead surrendered a short handed goal, scored on a 2-on-1 by Sanni Rantala. A minute into the third period, Elisa Holopainen scored her 15th of the season on the power play to give Frölunda a 3-1 lead. MoDo would score once more to make it close, but could not tie the game and succumbed 3-2. The win was Frölunda’s sixth in a row and cemented their spot at second place in the standings.

Linköping 1 – Luleå 2

Plucky Linköping put up a great fight and had the league’s top team on the ropes, but their scoring struggles continued and the lost 2-1. Luleå took a two goal lead into the first intermission on goals from Emma Nordin and Viivi Vainikka. The second period also belonged to Luleå, who pumped 12 shots on LHC goalie Ebba Svensson Träff, but did not score again. In the third period, Linköping looked like a team possessed. They sent shot after shot Sara Grahn’s way, but the Luleå keeper stood tall. With just over three minutes remaining in the game, LHC’s big Sara Hjalmarsson finally beat Grahn to bring her team within one. That was as close as the score would get. Luleå’s veterans shut the door the rest of the way to keep their winning streak, now at six games, alive. Luleå’s lead over second-place Frölunda is now four points.

Djurgården 1 – Skellefteå 2

Sunday’s late game was plagued by penalties. Four two-minute minors were awarded in the first period and a further six in the second. Nonetheless, the game’s first two goals were both scored at even strength and both by Skellefteå. First, Ida Kuoppala tallied her fifth of the season six minutes into the opening period. Then the parade to the penalty box began, as Skellefteå took three straight minor penalties and DIF responded with a penalty of their own to Wilma Georgny. Both teams’ power play units came up empty handed, and the score remained 1-0 SKE at the first intermission. Less than a minute into the second period, Skellefteå’s lead grew when Mikayla Lantto put the puck past DIF’s Ida Boman to make the score 2-0. Djurgården’s power play has been abysmal this season, and is ranked last in the league with a 6.12% success rate. It took five power plays in this match, but DIF finally scored with the advantage. It was DIF’s Czech Connection line, which had been buzzing all night, that finally got it done. Tereza Plosova’s point shot was redirected in front by Hana Haasova to bring Djurgården within one with six and a half minutes to play. After the goal, the referees finally put away their whistles, and the teams were allowed to compete. What followed was a high speed, back and forth end to the game. Skellefteå held on, thanks to some gutsy defending by Nikita Bergmann and goaltender Camryn Drever, and took the win 2-1.