Read below for information about the semi-final series between Luleå Hockey and Skellefteå AIK. Lulea won 5–4 on aggregate to advance to the final.

Game 2

LULEA – Their Swedish Hockey League seasons have gone vastly different, but on this day Lulea Hockey got the better of their closest and fiercest league rival. Skelleftea AIK are the defending Swedish champion and lead the league again so far this season, but it is Lulea will play for the European championship.

"Really great!" was how Lulea forward and game-winning-goal scorer Jan Sandstrom answered when asked how he felt. "It's always nice to beat Skelleftea, and even nicer in a game like this."

The two teams had tied the first leg of the semi-final in Skelleftea, which simply meant the winner of this game moved on to the final. That was Lulea, who led 2–1 after one period, opened up a two-goal lead late in the second period, then held on to win by one. The biggest reasons for the victory were the penalty killing, which only surrendered one goal on seven Skelleftea power plays, and the goaltending of Joel Lassinantti, who stopped 24 of 26 shots – most of those in the first two periods when his team took most of its penalties.

"We didn't play our best. Maybe a little too defensive, but that's the way you have to play to beat Skelleftea," Sandstrom continued. "We've had great penalty killing all season, and today we got a little extra practice. We took some stupid penalties."

Karl Fabricius opened the scoring for Lulea at 5:41, but just 10 seconds after the goal Cam Abbott was called for boarding and defenceman Tim Heed tied it on a blast from the point on the power play. Daniel Zaar got Lulea the lead back, and they were forced to protect it late in the period as Skelleftea had two more power plays, including a two-man advantage for nine seconds. 

In the second period Skelleftea got two more power plays but couldn't score, then late in the period Sandstrom scored on Lulea's second power play of the game. Despite leading in shots 23–11 after two periods, Hans Wallson's Skelleftea squad trailed by a pair with one period to go. 

"The bottom line is our power play couldn't score tonight," Wallson said bluntly. "We got some shots, but not as many quality shots as we wanted."

"In the attacking zone we were too much to the outside. We didn't get close to the net," said Skelleftea captain Erik Forsell, who assisted on both of his team's goals. "I don't think our passing game was good enough."

Protecting a two-goal lead, Lulea completely shut down Skelleftea in the third, limiting their northern Swedish rivals to just three shots. Skelleftea did score a late goal with 1:09 to play, however. They were shorthanded, but playing five-a-side with goalie Erik Hanses on the bench, and Martin Lundberg beat Lassinantti with a long wrister to the far side. 

However, any hopes of tying the score and sending the series to overtime were quickly dashed when, still shorthanded, Forsell iced the puck from his own zone but the puck sailed over the far end glass and out of play, resulting in a delay-of-game penalty. Hanses came out of the net to again make it 5-on-5 on the ice, but Lulea kept the puck away from their own net to preserve the victory.

"Clumsy. I didn't even dump it hard," Forsell said, explaining the clearing attempt that got away from him. He went on to say, "That's not where we lost the game. There were many other things we did too poorly. Lulea were better than us."

The crowd of 5540 were loud throughout the game, and clearly enjoyed cheering their team on to victory against a big rival in a big game.

"The atmosphere was really great here today," Sandstrom agreed. "It's been a long time since we last had atmosphere this great. The fans always sing, no matter who we play. But today it was a little extra, I think."

And the Lulea fans will get another chance to cheer their team on in CHL play and it will be the biggest one – the final in two weeks against Frolunda Gothenburg.

Game 1

SKELLEFTEA – It was said that the derby of northern Sweden was going to be a fierce one, likely to be decided by the slightest of margins, despite the difference between the two teams in the SHL standings. After the first game of this home-and-away semi-final, that forecast seems accurate. 

Lulea played a solid road game, with a strong contingent of fans who made the 130 km drive south, and outshot Skelleftea 31–26. They got an early goal, saw Skelleftea even the score and take the lead, and then tied it late to bring the series home with an even score. 

"We've hardly played any good games in the CHL. I do not really know why," Skelleftea coach Hans Wallson said, despite the fact his team has managed to make it to the semi-finals. However, for the first-place team in what many consider the best national league in continental Europe, expectations are high.

The first period was even in shots, 11–11, but Lulea had the best chances and scored the only goal. Lars Brygmann opened the scoring at the 1:32 mark with a shot inside the far post. They nearly made it 2–0 10 minutes later when Markus Svensson denied Lucas Wallmark on a breakaway and the Skelleftea goalie nearly dragged the puck back with him over the goal line. Then late in the period Svensson made a great glove save off a bullet from the point by Kristian Nakyva, but the Lulea defenceman would get his revenge later. 

Anton Lindholm tied the game in the 35th minute when he thread the needle with a long wrister from the point through traffic that beat Joel Lassinantti high, bumping the water bottle on the top of the net.

"I tried to avoid the first player and then it found the way," the 20-year-old Skelleftea defenceman said.

Then early in the third period, Skelleftea caught a break when Patrik Zackrisson's shot went off defenceman Jan Sandstrom and into the net to give the home team its first lead of the game.

"It was a little tough for us," said Nakyva. "We had a tough time for a while after that. They got good pressure and good energy from that goal. We got better in the last 10 minutes of the game, pressured hard and they gave us some power plays. And luckily we got the goal."

There were three straight power plays for Lulea in the last 10 minutes, including a 5-on-3 for 1:05. They didn't score on that, but after Martin Sevc was given the lone penalty after a scrum, it took only four seconds for Nakyva to make good with a blast from the point, tying the score 2–2 with only 1:04 on the clock. 

Nakyva described, "I took the space to the middle and tried to get it through. There were three guys going to the net. It bounced, or something happened and it went in."

On his team's effort, Lulea head coach Joakim Fagervall said, "I think we started well from the start. We moved our legs and created a lot of scoring chances. We had a litte trouble in the middle part, but we came back strong. We gave a strong effort and played a good team game." 

His team accomplished what it set out to do, and thanks to that they will have a clean slate as they take the the ice next Tuesday on home ice, with a berth in the CHL final at stake. 

Preview

It took yet another shootout win, but Skelleftea has moved on to the semi-finals where they'll face off against in-league rival Lulea, who won a close defensive battle to ebb their path to the semis.

These two teams will meet for the first time in CHL play, but the fifth and sixth times in this season. In SHL play, Skelleftea have managed to take three of the four encounters, all in regulation time, by tight scores of 3–2, 4–2 and 4–2. Lulea won the first meeting of the season in overtime by a score of 3–2.

Based on their meetings to date, there’s little reason to think the trend of close games should change. Still, one look at the SHL standings will give you a much different impression. Skelleftea are currently the top team in Sweden with 77 points and have won 25 of their 37 games, 23 of which have been in regulation time. Lulea find themselves in a much different and unfamiliar place in the standings, currently mired in eighth place out of the league’s 12 teams. They’ve won 19 of their 37 games, with only 13 of those victories having come in regulation.

Scoring has been hard to come by and Lulea’s most consistent player has been defenceman Kristian Nakyva, who not only has a plus-6, but also leads the team in scoring with seven goals and 20 points in 36 contests. Forward Daniel Zaar leads the team with 12 assists while two-way forward Per Ledin tops the list with nine goals to date.

Things look quite different for a Skelleftea club many pundits felt would drop in the standings after last season’s championship and loss of a dozen key contributors. Instead, they’ve pulled rabbits out of their free agent hat while seeing some home grown products step up to the plate. Contributions are coming from all over the place and the team is finding ways to win despite having lost top scorer Kirill Kabanov (8+14=22 in 26 games) to a season-ending injury. Leading the way in goals is first year pro Andrew Calof with 11 in 30 contests. Defenceman Tim Heed is finally breaking through and leads the team with 15 assists to date. Czech defenceman Martin Sevc leads the team with a plus-15. For both teams, offensive success in CHL play hasn’t been as difficult to come by as it generally is in the SHL.

Sweden & Lulea's Lucas Wallmark: "We're going for gold"

Skelleftea's Holmstrom disappointed after Sweden's finish at WJC

Closer look: Luleå Hockey

(8-0-0-2, 24 points, 49:18)

Lulea Hockey advanced to the semi-finals with a tight 2–1 victory over Lukko Rauma. This gave the team a secure 7–3 victory on aggregate.

Lulea's two goals in the game were scored just 18 seconds apart, and both assisted by Cam Abbott. The first was a power-play goal as Markus Fagerudd's slapper from the point through traffic beat Oskari Setanen, and then Abbott found brother Chris with a lead pass. His wrister from the left wing off the far post and in gave his team a five-goal aggregate lead with a period to play.

Lukko tried in vain to mount an offensive in the third period, though they did manage to break Joel Lassinantti's shutout with 46 seconds to play, but it was far too little, far too late.

Daniel

Zaar

6+6, +4

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Zaar is Luleå's top scorer so far in the CHL. Lukko managed to keep him off the scoresheet in the quarter-finals as they got offence from other sources, but Zaar's 12 points is enough to retain the top scorer's jersey. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick is also producing well in SHL play. In both the SHL and CHL this season his line with Lucas Wallmark and Ledin has been outstanding.

 

Kristian

Näkyvä

2+7, +10

 

Top Defenceman: Näkyvä is one of those sources that contributed offence against Lukko, with a three-point effort in game two to raise his CHL total to 10 points. He leads the team in SHL scoring as well. Näkyvä's been impressive so far in his first season in Sweden, and said in an interview that the Swedish style of play suits his game. 

 

Joel

Lassinantti

94.79 %

 

Top Goaltender: Lassinantti has a save precentage of 94.79 so far in the CHL, which includes a relief appearance in Salzburg where he allowed two goals in over 59 minutes of work and stopped all four shots he faced in the tie-breaking shootout. He then stopped 21 of 22 shots in the second game against Rauma. In the SHL, the 21-year-old has established himself as Lulea's starter which, considering he spent all of last season on loan in the Allsvenskan, is no small feat.

 

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: Skellefteå AIK

(7-0-0-3, 21 points, 34:20)

After withstanding a late Linkoping HC comeback, Skelleftea AIK won their quarter-final series in a shootout. In the eighth-finals, they had to rally with two late goals and eventually wound up winning in a shootout. This time, in the quarter-finals against Linkoping HC, they allowed two late goals to force overtime. For the second straight round, they're advancing after a shootout victory. Skelleftea entered their home half of the series against league rival Linkoping with a one-goal lead, but found themselves playing catch-up on their way to victory. Linkoping managed to take the lead over the first two periods – each time ultimately tying the aggregate score – but each time having to fall subject to Skelleftea’s goal-scoring response.

When Skelleftea took a 3–2 lead in the game – and 5–3 aggregate lead – midway through the third period, it looked like they might finally be pulling away, but with 5:36 to play Adam Pettersson took a costly five-minute kneeing penalty and a game misconduct. That gave Linkoping the opening they needed and they scored twice, thus tying the aggregate score and sending the series to overtime.

Things were finally finished after former NHLer Rob Schremp scored the sole goal of the shootout while goalie Erik Hanses stopped all five of Linkoping’s shooters.

Pär

Lindholm

1+11, +10

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Pär Lindholm had two assists in the two-game quarter-final series with Linköping and now leads his team in points in CHL play. In the SHL, where he's a rookie, he has 16 points in his first 29 games, and quickly gaining confidence. The playmaking centre's favourite target is linemate Calof.

 

Martin

Sevc

0+3, +4

 

Top Defenceman: Skellefteå are not shallow on the back end, and one of their top defencemen is Sevc, a Czech national team regular. Not only is he able to contribute offensively, but he's physical and somebody who opposing forwards need to be aware of when crossing the blueline.

 

Markus

Svensson

93.75%

 

Goaltender: In the CHL, Markus Svensson notched a 93.75 save percentage in three games before leaving game 2 of the quarter-final against JYP with an injury. Hanses played both games against Linköping, but Svensson is back playing regularly in the SHL and could get the nod again agianst Lulea.

 

Click here for team statistics.