Emily Nix notched a hat trick and Jenni Hiirikoski had a highlight night to lead the SDHL action. Here's a full recap of today's games.
Emily Nix notched a hat trick and Jenni Hiirikoski had a highlight night to lead the SDHL action. Here's a full recap of today's games.
Skellefteå 0 - SDE 4
Both teams have struggled to light the lamp this season and are averaging fewer than two scored per game. Skellefteå has shown flashes of brilliance, and has managed to steal points from some of the league’s top teams, while SDE has quite simply under performed. SDE goaltender Kassidy Sauvé, owner of the league’s best save percentage, did not dress for the third straight game, for undisclosed reasons, and Lovisa Berndtsson got the start. SDE came out hard in the first period, using their aggressive forecheck to flummox Skellefteå’s offense, and prevented the team from mounting any serious attacks. The period remained scoreless until late, when SDE’s Michelle Löwenhielm took things into her own hands, attacking a defensive seam from the right boards before smoothly shooting the puck through Skellefteå goalie Camryn Drever’s pads. Such individual decisiveness is what SDE has been lacking at times this season, as they overpass or neglect to finish prime scoring chances. Emily Nix got the memo, it seems, as she elected to shoot on a 2-on-1 and beat Drever with a beauty, giving SDE a 2-0 lead halfway through the middle frame. Minutes later, it was Nix again, batting in a rebound on the power play to put her team up 3-0. Nix registered a natural hat trick before the period was out when she again took initiative and drove into the slot, puck on her stick, before zinging it past Drever to make the score 4-0. Any hopes of a Skellefteå comeback were quashed when they took three straight penalties in the third period. SDE coasted to victory and goaltender Lovisa Berndtsson earned the shutout.
Luleå 3 - Leksand 1
Entering this afternoon’s game, Luleå possessed the league’s most effective power play (33.3%) and penalty kill (92.9%), the most wins (11), most goals scored (54) and boasted four of the SDHL’s top ten scorers. Leksand, meanwhile, was 12% on the power play, had the league’s worst penalty kill, the fewest wins (2), and the fewest goals scored this season (17). A bright spot for Leksand has been goaltending, as veteran Emma Polusny has put up excellent numbers (94% save percentage) so far this season. Given some goal support, Polusny and Leksand have the potential to steal wins and points from better teams, which is what they set out to do against Luleå. The first period, predictably, was dominated by Luleå, who outshot their opponent 13-2. Again, Polusny was excellent and kept the game knotted at zero. After two periods of play, Luleå had outshot Leksand 23-8, but still had nothing to show for it as Polusny earned her paycheque and kept the game scoreless. As is often the case, the first goal of the game quickly led to one more. First, Luleå’s Emma Nordin broke the deadlock with her sixth of the season, scored on the power play. Minutes later, Leksand tied it up on a nice tip of a Tereza Radova shot by Sofia Sohlin. The goal awakened Luleå, and their skill players went to work. Viivi Vainikka displayed her world class puck protection skills, juking up and down the right wing before dishing to captain Jenni Hiirikoski at the point. Hiirikoski made no mistake, using her signature wrist shot to beat Polusny cleanly and restore Luleå’s lead. Petra Nieminen added her fifth goal in two games with two minutes remaining. The goal was the result of a masterful display of possession by Hiirikoski and her teammates in their own zone, as they passed and regrouped effortlessly before Erica Reider eventually sprung Nieminen on a breakaway with a perfect stretch pass. With the win, Luleå enters the international break with sole possession of first place in the standings. With her three points tonight (a goal and two assists), Jenni Hiirikoski appears more and more likely to garner interest from PWHL teams ahead of the 2025 draft. The veteran defender, who turns 38 in March but shows no signs of slowing down, continues to display the skill, vision and poise that make her one of the very best defenders in the world.