Parity Creates Excitement In The SDHL

Fireworks as SDE Gives Reigning Champions Luleå a Scare; Plucky Skellefteå Notches Second SDHL Win; MoDo Looks Primed To Challenge For Gold; Karvinen and Olsson Drive Frölunda To Victory. It was a busy day in the SDHL. Here's a look at the games.

MoDo entered the evening as one of the league’s top teams, having yet to lose a game in regulation time. Head Coach Jared Cipparone has his group playing an entertaining, high-paced game, that thrives on transition scoring. Brynäs, meanwhile, welcomed the return of Hanna Thuvik, back in the lineup after serving her two-game suspension in Week 2. Brynäs has been anaemic on the power play thus far this season, having yet to register a goal on the advantage; Thuvik, who was a point-per-game player for the team last season, would attempt to get things back on track for the team from Gävle.

MoDo’s forecheck gave Brynäs fits in the first period, generating numerous turnovers and the game’s first goal. As MoDo pressed deep into Brynäs’ zone forcing a giveaway, the women in red transitioned quickly, taking advantage of some rather hapless defending by the visiting team, and Maja Grundström’s shot found the back of the net to make it 1-0 Modo.

Brynäs showed much more pep in the second and third periods, as they buzzed around the offensive zone carving lanes through the MoDo defense, but they still could not solve goaltender Andrea Brändli. Two second period power plays were again fruitless, and the team’s frustration was palpable. MoDo’s Mira Hallin would score an empty net goal off a defensive zone faceoff late in the third, and though Brynäs finally put one past Brändli to make the game 2-1, it was too little too late: Maja Grundström scored her second of the night into an empty cage 15 seconds later, and MoDo maintains their status at the top of the league with the win.

Frölunda features one of the SDHL’s most star-studded offenses, while Djurgården has struggled in the scoring department, managing to register only 0.73 Goals For Per Game so far this season. FHC’s embarrassment of offensive riches, including league scoring leader Elisa Holopainen (11 points), wily veteran Michelle Karvinen (8), and the always dangerous Hanna Olsson (8). Meanwhile, Djurgården’s scoring leader, Selma Tyreskog, has registered a goal and an assist in five games this season.

Djurgården and plucky keeper Ida Boman managed to keep Frölunda off the scoresheet until the very end of the second period, when Karvinen scored her fourth of the season with 44 seconds left on the clock, assisted by Hanna Olsson. The duo would connect again very early in the third period, this time with Olsson converting on a pass from Karvinen. The goal would prove to be Olsson’s second straight game-winner, giving Frölunda another three points in their strong start to the 2024-25 season.

Luleå came in with a chip on their shoulder, having lost to MoDo in their most recent match. The team wasted no time against SDE, scoring a goal that was either (depending on which team one supports) a very lucky bounce, or a world class display of skill: Petra Nieminen, shooting in stride, saw her attempt saved by SDE’s Kassidy Sauvé. The puck bounced up and behind the goal, where Nieminen, still skating at full speed, batted it out of the air into the slot and onto the stick of a trailing Jaycee Magwood, who deposited the puck against a helpless Sauvé, giving Luleå the very early lead.

SDE, undeterred, showed the reigning champs little respect, driving the play and possessing the puck for large portions of the game. Their tenacity would pay off halfway through the third period, when Lilliane Perrault scored a net front tap-in on the power play, tying the game at one apiece. Things would get even more interesting from there, as Luleå was assessed a 2-minute penalty for Abuse of Officials, putting SDE back on the advantage. Luleå’s penalty killers and the always solid Sara Grahn turned away every shot. Minutes later, tempers flared and the teams were assessed coinciding penalties for roughing (incidentally, none of the penalised players was SDE’s Kassidy Sauvé, who displayed a mean left hook during a post-whistle scrum).

The game would go to overtime, where the chippiness continued, each team drawing penalties in the extra frame. In the end, it was Nieminen again, finishing the game the way she started it — on the scoresheet. Sailing down the right side, Nieminen drove towards the faceoff dot and looked left, her ruse perhaps setting Sauvé on her heels. Nieminen’s wrist shot beat the goalie under her arm, giving Luleå the 2-1 win in OT. Expect more fireworks when the teams meet again later this season.

Newcomers Skellefteå continued their strong start, knocking off Leksand on the strength of two Aino Karppinen markers. Karppinen, who played for Leksand last season, scored in the waning seconds of the first period, and added another on the power play in the second frame. Skellefteå goaltender Camryn Drever, who joined the team this season from University of Saskatchewan, had another strong start, stopping 22 of 23 Leksand shots. Leksand will need to find consistency as the season progresses, as they have yet to win two games in a row. Skellefteå, in these early days of their inaugural SDHL season, looks like a team built to stay. Both teams are back at it on Sunday against some heavy hitters, as Skellefteå plays away at SDE, and Leksand takes on Luleå at home.