SDHL – Semi Final Results

Last weekend saw the deciding matches in the semifinals of this year’s SDHL played out in Jönköping and Linköping. Despite being a best of five series, both were completed in ”straight sets” with 3-0 victories to last year’s finalists Luleå/ MSSK and Linköping HC. These two will meet again when the series starts on 16 March to decide who will be crowned SDHL champions 2018/9.

Twitterer @bodennilsson has put up video clips from almost all games in the series.

Luleå HF v HV71

HV71 were the only team in the top five of the SDHL who did not manage to beat Luleå in the regular season. But they showed no fear for the current champions and refused to lie down in any of the three games.

In the first match in Luleå the home team went ahead 3-0 in the first 16 minutes but the visitors refused to capitulate. Scoring a goal in each period they levelled with Luleå with 4:12 left on the clock. An upset seemed possible as the game went into overtime, but with the home team on the Power Play, Finnish Olympian, Noora Tulus scored the game winner goal. With her assist on Tulus’ goal, fellow Finnish bronze medalist, Ronja Savolainen became the third Luleå player to score a Gordie Howe hattrick this year.

Swedish U18 World Cup player and HV71’s #28 Jenny Antonsson gets ready to shoot as Luleå #48, Natalie Ferno flies in with a desperate poke check.

In the second game in Jönköping, HV took their confidence from that game with them and for first time in the series lead the champions 2-1 at the beginning of the third period. The final 20 minutes of the game produced four goals. First, Luleå HF served up a double punch l as they netted twice in 47 seconds to take the lead, 2-3.

With just under 10 minutes to go, last year’s top forward, Finn, Michelle Karvinen found the net to take the champions, 2-4 ahead. But three minutes later she would be sent to the penalty box for Roughing. That gave space for Lina Ljungblom, the 17 year old U18 Swedish international taken in by HV71 just for the playoffs, to score her second goal of the game and third of the series with under five minutes to go. But it would not be a hometown victory and Luleå again won a close fought game, 3-4.

Lina Ljungblom playing for Sweden in the U18 World Cup this season. She has only played for Skövde up to now, but answered for three goals in four games in her senior debut with HV71 in the playoffs.

The third game started like the first with Luleå HF putting in four goals past the home team in just over 16 minutes of play, two of which were scored the power play. But HV never lost sight of their goal and produced a disciplined second period, giving away only one penalty and scoring two goals to go into the third period only 2-4 down.

But discipline would again be HV71’s undoing as Noora Tulus netted her second power play goal of the match after only 1:33 of the final period played. Luleå would later finish off the game with an empty net goal to take the match 2-6 and the series 3-0.

Luleå’s forwards, Emma Nordin and Michelle Karvinen now lead the postseason scoring with 13 points each.

On the left, #33 Michelle Karvinen celebrates with fellow Finn, #40 Noora Tulus.

MODO Hockey – Linköping HC

These two teams met in the semifinal last year when Linköping came out victorious 2-1 in matches. But when the two team’s met in Örnsköldsvik last Tuesday it was the home team that were favourites to win in front of the 800 fans who came to see the game.

But it was Linköping who scored first, putting the pressure on the home team with two quick goals at the start of the second period. Former MODO player and American Olympic Gold medalist, Sidney Morin scored an assist on the 0-2 goal which was netted by Sweden’s own Olympic bronze medalist, Pernilla Winberg. The home team never found their way into the game, so that when their top scorer and former Toronto Furies‘ forward, Michela Cava got her name on the scoresheet it was too little too late. Linköping took the game 1-3.

In the centre of the photo, MODO Hockey’s, Assistant Captain, #19 Kaitlyn Tougas watches on. The Canadian and former CWHL player with Markham Thunder was the team’s top points scorer behind Cava in both the regular season and playoffs.

In Match 2 MODO scored first and it was Cava who got the assist on 6.3ft (190 cm) French forward, Lore Baudrit‘s goal after just 3:15. But Linköping did not let go and the game was level at 2-2 with just under half the match remaining. When Morin scored her third assist of the match on another Winberg goal, the home team had shifted the momentum of the game to their advantage with 4-2. The visitors chased and it was no other than Cava who scored with just 1:30 minutes left in the game to bring it to 4-3. But there would not be anymore goals and the guests went down in the series 2-0.

For the second year in a row MODO found themselves in a must win third match of the series playing away in Linköping’s Stångebrohallen. It was a tense and high quality game marked by excellent defense and goalkeeping at both ends. And even with Linköping taking a 1-0 lead through Buffalo Beauts‘ drafted Kennedy Marchment in the first period it did not change the atmosphere.

Linköping HC’s #28, Canadian Kennedy Marchment was drafted in the NWHL first round in 2018 and is one of the few players drafted to that league playing in the SDHL.

The opening two periods were marked by nine penalties including three Illegal Hits. But that did not include when Linköping defender, Emilia Ramboldt and MODO captain, Olivia Carlsson exchanged blows in front for the Linköping bench. It was only when Linköping scored their second at 6:49 in the final period that the tension eased and the home team’s final place seemed secured. The top scorer in the league’s 11 year history, Denise Altmann was the one who found the net on a breakaway. But MODO’s young Czech goalkeeper, Klara Peslarova was livid and confronted the referees believing she had been interfered with on the play. But the goal stood and as time ticked away it was Linköping who cemented the victory with two more goals.

The score of 4-0 does not really do justice to MODO’s fighting spirit, which exploded with five minutes to go when 90% of the players of the ice were involved in a brawl in front of Linköping netminder, Eveliina Sounpää. Both Linköping’s Stacey Brooke and MODO’s Paula Bergström picked up a 2 PIM for Fighting and 20 PIM for Game Misconduct. When the siren went the loss was too much for Peslarova who broke down in tears at the bench and then attempted to smash her stick to pieces in rage. At the other end of the ice Linköping took a deserved 3 – 0 match victory and will face Luleå again in the championship decider series.