Djurgården Upsets Luleå and Svensson Träff Perfect Again in SDHL Action

It was a wild day of SDHL action including an upset of Luleå, continued brilliance from Ebba Svensson Träff, and much more. Here's a look at SDHL action from this weekend.

MoDo ruined goalkeeper Lina Van Noort’s 200th game in a HV71 jersey, winning on the strength of three second period goals. The first goal came when MoDo’s Emma Seitz powered up the ice, entered the HV zone and dished to Adela Sapovalivova, who toe dragged and sniped, making it 1-0 for the locals. Less than two minutes later, Sapovalivova scored her second of the afternoon and eighth of the season, again assisted by Seitz. Soon thereafter, HV awakened, creating a flurry of chances before team scoring leader Elin Svensson notched her sixth goal of the season. Any thoughts of a comeback were short lived, as MoDo’s Wilma Sundin scored her first of the season only 40 seconds later, and MoDo took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. Late in the third period, HV clawed back another when Alva Solberg’s marker beat Lovisa Persson, but that was as close as this game would get, and MoDo earned the three point win. Van Noort made 25 saves in the loss, and Persson recorded her third win of the season. HV71 is back in action on Wednesday at home against Linköping.

DIF’s Czech lions roared and helped their team register perhaps the biggest upset of the SDHL season so far. Djurgården’s first goal was a dandy, with Tereza Pištěková using her speed to attack straight down the middle lane. As she approached Luleå goalie Sara Grahn, she swung right and passed left to a trailing Tereza Plosová who neatly scored her third of the season. The second period saw two Djurgården power plays but no scoring. Barely one minute into the third frame, Djurgården and Plosová struck again to give themselves a two-goal lead. Luleå’s Linnea Johansson eventually tallied to bring her team within one, but DIF sealed the victory when Pištěková rounded out the scoring with under two minutes remaining. DIF’s Czechs, Plosová, Pištěková, and Hana Haasova, accounted for 6 points on the night. Djurgården goalie Ida Boman recorded 24 saves in the victory.

Linköping goaltender Ebba Svensson Träff recorded her league-leading fourth shutout of the season as her team hung on to defeat Skellefteå 1-0 on Sunday afternoon. Emmi Alasalmi scored the game’s only goal on a seemingly harmless shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that changed direction on the way in. Skellefteå pushed back hard, spent twelve minutes on the power play and eventually outshot LHC 33-24, but were stymied time and again by the excellent play of Svensson Träff. Linköping is back in action Wednesday against HV71 in Jönköping.

In an incredible comeback, Brynäs scored four unanswered goals in the final seven minutes to take an improbable overtime victory over Frölunda. The game was even after the first period, where Frölunda struck first when speedy Edit Danielsson powered past two Brynäs defenders and slotted the puck neatly between goalie Ena Nystrøm’s pads to take a 1-0 lead. Brynäs’ steadily improving power play went to work minutes later and made no mistake: quick puck movement ended with a pass to Vanhanen in the right circle. She wired a one-timer top corner to tie the game at one apiece. The second period was all Frölunda, as Sofie Lundin notched her seventh and eighth goals of the season, both assisted by league scoring leader Elisa Holopainen. Frölunda appeared to put the game away early in the third frame when Andrea Dalen snapped home her first of the year to make the score 4-1. Brynäs assistant captain Hanna Thuvik clawed one back at 53:19, and Frölunda took an ill-advised boarding penalty shortly thereafter. Sanni Vanhanen notched her second of the evening on the ensuing power play to bring Brynäs within one. With 90 seconds remaining in the game, a backchecking Holopainen got her stick up in the throat of a Brynäs attacker, and was assessed a minor penalty. Nystrøm was pulled for an extra attacker and Brynäs went to work 6-on-4, rewarded again when a blocked shot bounced to Annie Silén in the right circle and she made no mistake, sniping through traffic to tie the game at four. In overtime, Hanna Thuvik, all swagger, attacked 1-on-3 before clinically finishing past Frölunda’s shellshocked young goalkeeper, Maja Helge. Comeback complete. With the overtime win, Brynäs secured fifth spot in the standings. Both teams are back in action next Friday.