DIF’s Czechout Line Scores At Will, Team Vaults Into Fourth Place

In the lone SDHL game of the evening, Linköping captain and recent Swedish national team invitee Sara Hjalmarsson opened the scoring on a second period breakaway. Sprung by a cutting Lova Blom pass, Hjalmarsson shimmied her shoulders, freezing DIF keeper Ida Boman before cutting left and sliding the puck beyond the goalie’s outstretched toe. The goal was Hjalmarsson’s fourth in as many games.

Djurgården’s Czechout Line of Tereza Plosová, Tereza Pištěková and Hana Haasová tied the score early in the third period, on a play that was eerily similar to Linköping’s opening goal. Pištěková received a Plosová pass at the blue line and took off a breakaway. She deked twice before tucking the puck between LHC goalie Ebba Svensson Träff’s pads to make it 1-1. Ten minutes later, the Czechs struck again, beneficiaries of some puck luck. A Pištěková shot missed the net but caromed off the boards and directly onto Haasová’s stick. She slammed the puck short side to make the score 2-1. Less than two minutes later, more Czech magic as Plosová sniped a pretty Pištěková feed top corner to make it 3-1 DIF. In desperation, LHC pulled Svensson Träff for an extra attacker, but the gambit resulted only in another Czech goal, Plosová’s second of the night. DIF added another empty-netter before the final buzzer sounded, and the game ended 5-1. 

With the win, Djurgården climbed to fourth place in the standings, and snapped their three game losing streak.