It’s been a wild Swedish Hockey League semifinal series between Skellefteå AIK and Frölunda HC with plenty of goals, lead swings, and four overtimes in the first six games. But despite a few controversial plays, there hadn’t been any suspensions until now.
Skellefteå, which had a 3-1 series lead following a 7-6 overtime win in game four, has now lost two games in a row and will have to play game seven at home without one of its top forwards.
In the early minutes of game six, Andreas Johnsson (whose surname is sometimes spelled Johnson depending on the source) was forechecking in the Frölunda zone and just after Linus Nässén had passed the puck away, the two players’ right knees collided.
After reviewing the play on video, the referees assessed Johnsson a match penalty for kneeing.
“I wanted to forecheck and try to win the puck back,” Johnsson explained in a statement to the disciplinary committee, according to Matthias Ekk of HockeyNews.se. “I didn't come at such a high speed and I saw him look up and perceive that I would hit him. Instead of receiving the hit or spinning away from me, he chose to try to slip away.”
In its explanation, the league’s disciplinary board said that Johnsson “is guilty of a leg check (kneeing) that he could have avoided.”
Johnsson, 29, is in his first season with Skellefteå after seven seasons in North America in the organizations of the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks, during which time he played 273 NHL games and 194 in the AHL. Prior to that, he spent a number of years in the Frölunda organization, where he climbed from the ranks of youth hockey to the SHL. He therefore has a number of former teammates on the current Frölunda team (although not Nässén, who is six years younger than Johnsson).
In addition to the two-game suspension, Johnsson has also received a fine of 31,250 Swedish crowns (approximately $2850 US).
The winner of game seven will face Rögle BK in the SHL finals, which begin on Saturday. If Skellefteå advances, Johnson will be eligible to return for game two.