On Valentine's Day, Ida Boman secured her fourth straight shutout to lead Djurgården to victory.
On Valentine's Day, Ida Boman secured her fourth straight shutout to lead Djurgården to victory.
Here's a look at the SDHL's action on Valentine's Day including Ida Boman's fourth straight shutout.
Djurgården 1 - MoDo 0
Ida Boman did it again. The Djurgården keeper stopped all 20 shots she faced en route to her almost inconceivable fourth straight shutout. MoDo, for their part, looked listless and lacked the strong netfront presence that has been a hallmark of their game this season. What Boman can see, Boman can stop, and she proved that time and again on Friday evening. She stopped cross-ice plays, she stopped point shots, she stopped breakaways and jams. Teammate Wilma Georgny’s second period goal was all the offense DIF needed to take home the win. Boman’s confidence is soaring, and could carry Djurgården to victory in the playoffs, which begin on Wednesday.
Luleå 3 - Skellefteå 1
Linnea Johansson scored twice as Luleå cruised to a 3-1 win over Skellefteå on Friday evening. Johansson’s first goal was one of the strangest scored in the SDHL this season, as Skellefteå defender Malou Berggren actually scored an own-goal, bobbling the puck past goalkeeper Camryn Drever as she transported it behind her own net. Drever more than redeemed herself throughout the game, as she made tough save after tough save to keep the game closer than it should have been. With the win, Luleå officially won the SDHL regular season title, and secured home ice advantage throughout the upcoming playoffs. Skellefteå and Luleå meet again on Sunday in their final games of the regular season.
HV71 4 - Leksand 1
When the regular season ends on Sunday evening, HV71 and Leksand will be cemented as the league’s two lowest ranked teams. They will not, however, be released to the golf courses and a long off season quite yet. Each team will participate the Relegation Round, or what is known officially as the Qualification to the SDHL Tournament, in which they will play for the right to remain in the top league in 2025-2026. Their eventual opponents will be the top two teams to rise out of the NHDL, or Swedish second league, playoffs. The format, unfamiliar to most North American fans, brings a level of excitement and tension to the end of a season, and removes any temptation to ‘tank’ or purge a roster of expensive imports late in a campaign. The SDHL’s AIK was relegated last season, and faces an uphill battle in their attempt to return to the top league.
HV71, for their part, are playing very much like an SDHL team. They dominated the play against Leksand on Friday evening, and scored the game’s first goal before the ice even had a chance to dry. Halfway through the game, HV added two more goals, from Rachel Weiss and Kennedy Bobyck. Weiss added another late as HV outshot hapless Leksand 45-11 en route to a comfortable 4-1 win. Leksand will need to find a way to generate offense if they are to have any hope of remaining an SDHL team next season.
Linköping 0 - Brynäs 2
Brynäs stormed out of the gates in their first game since the international break. They forechecked and transitioned at high speed, won puck races, and generally outplayed Linköping early. Speedy Sanni Vanhanen rewarded her team’s efforts when she scored the game’s first goal on the power play halfway through the first period. With only one referee on duty, the game got chippy: Linköping ran Brynäs goalie Ena Nystrøm time and again, but their slashes and shoves went seemingly unnoticed and unpunished. Her teammates stepped in, delivering some less-than-legal shots of their own. Nystrøm, unperturbed, stopped all 26 shots she faced as she registered her second shutout of the season and Brynäs went on to win 2-0. The win secured Brynäs fourth place in the SDHL, meaning they will face either SDE or Djurgården in the first round of the playoffs, which begin Wednesday.
Frölunda 3 - SDE 2 SO
SDE welcomed back starting goalie Kassidy Sauvé, who had been sidelined since December with an undisclosed injury. Sauvé looked fresh, making 33 of 36 possible saves on the night. Many of her stops were of the spectacular variety, as she used her athleticism and lateral explosiveness to foil prime Frölunda chances. Her teammates, for their part, came out hungry, and scored the games opening two goals in the first period. Frölunda clawed their way back, scoring late in the first frame and early in the third to knot the score at two apiece. Overtime solved nothing and the game went to a shootout. Steph Neatby stopped all three SDE attempts and teammate Sydney Brodt scored to send Frölunda home victorious. Final score 3-2.