Linköping won a rough contest against Djurgardens that ended in a shootout, and a shutout for Ebba Svensson Träff.
This was a game in which both teams struggled to generate solid scoring chances. Each facing a talented but smaller goalie, Linköping and Djurgården alike created very little net front traffic, taking shots from the perimeter that were easily corralled by DIF’s Ida Boman and LHC’s Ebba Svensson Träff. Both teams were guilty of flubbing odd-player rushes, shooting into defenders, and excessively turning over the puck in the opening frame.
Captain Brette Pettet finally provided DIF with some spark in the second period, but her attempts were again foiled by Svensson Träff. Linköping’s Lindsay Agnew created some chances of her own, but was calmly turned aside by Boman.
The third period featured 16 minutes in penalties, some well-deserved and others perhaps less so. Djurgården’s Linnea Natt Och Dag drew an interference penalty in the game’s 44th minute, when she stepped into Lova Blom to foil a one-on-one attack. A minute and a half later, Blom found herself in the box as she and DIF’s Tereza Pistekova received coinciding penalties for roughing. The parade to the penalty box continued as Natt Och Dag would head to the slammer for her second stint of the period, Ida Boman received two minutes for delay of game, and Haruka Toko was sent off for hooking. It was all spark and no flame, as both teams’ power plays looked listless and impotent, producing no goals and few scoring chances.
In overtime, LHC captain Sara Hjalmarsson looked to have won the game with a ripping shot that beat Boman but rang off the post with just over 30 seconds remaining in the extra frame.
The shootout was all Linköping as Olivia Sohrner and Hjalmarsson both beat Boman five-hole. DIF’s Hana Haasova looked to have kept her team alive, luring Svensson Träff with a nifty backhand toe drag, but the goalie slid across and shut the door, sealing the 1-0 victory for Linköping.
Expect more fireworks, and perhaps more scoring, when the teams meet for a rematch on Monday evening in Linköping.