After losing the CHL Final in Luleå and then falling behind 3 games to 1 against the same team in the SHL quarter-finals, Frölunda Gothenburg had to win three straight games to win the series, capping it off with a memorable game on home ice Tuesday night. 

by Efraim Larsson

GOTHENBURG – About two months ago we got to see a hot-tempered CHL Final between Frölunda Gothenburg and Luleå Hockey, and this Swedish Hockey League quarter-final series between the same two teams was one of a kind as well. It was a series that Fröunda are obviously thrilled to win, but aren't quick to compare this seven-game grind to the one-game winner-take-all that the teams played in February.

“The CHL Final and this SHL quarter-final series were two different things and I think that our biggest story right now was that we turned a 1–3 deficit to a 4–3 series win,” said defenceman Oscar Fantenburg, who had three assists in the series. “But we learned from the mistakes in that game and somehow I would say that the loss in that game gave us a little more fuel to the fire into this series perhaps.”

Frölunda won the first game on home ice 3–2 to put a bit of pressure on Luleå when the series moved up north for game two – and what an irascible story there was to be written.

During the game (that itself contained 133 penalty minutes) rumor had it that someone had thrown sand into the passage where the Frölunda players had to walk from their locker room out to the ice, forcing the guests to re-sharpen three pairs of skates during the first period. That, of course, put more fuel on the fire that made this series a thrilling one!

Luleå came out and took a 2–1 win and, on top of that, took a huge advantage in the series after winning the two following games giving them a 3–1 advantage in games.

“I think it was no harder than believing in our game plan and continuing doing what we did in the first few games, because after all it felt like we had every single bounce in the wrong direction that we could possibly have,” said Frölunda goalie Lars Johansson. “It seemed like our guys tipped in more goals behind me than Luleå scored for themselves, and somehow it felt illogical that they were up 3–1 in games. But we continued to march on and all the time it felt like we had more energy and strength the longer the the series went, and in the end it was those small details that made the difference.”

It really was the smallest of details that got Frölunda back to even in the series, with two straight overtime victories – first 3–2 on home ice followed by 1–0 on the road in game six – setting up a seventh game to determine which of the two teams to take the fourth and final semi-final spot. And without a word of a lie, game seven would be a one-of-a-kind story on its own.

With Frölunda up 2–0 late in the game, Luleå got a chance on the power play and pulled goalie Joel Lassinantti. With 1:48 to go in the game, Anton Axelsson scored into the empty net to make it 3–0 and pretty much everyone awaited the final horn. Everyone, that is, except Luleå.

Within a span of 12 seconds, Luleå managed to make it breathtakingly thrilling with two goals, scored by Jonathan Granström and Chris Abbott, to make it 3–2 with 52 seconds left.

“I was thinking, 'This isn't happening',” laughed Frölunda captain Joel Lundqvist. “It was just typical Luleå, dumping in on goal, taking the rebounds and then the same but a great tip by Chris to make it 3–2. So yeah, it became...” he paused and sighed, “a bit shaky. But anything for a thrill.”

Mattias Janmark relieved the tension with another empty-netter to make it 4–2 and when the final horn sounded, Frölunda had managed to turn a 1–3 deficit into a semi-final spot with three straight wins – something that has now only been done four times in SHL history.

“It’s an incredibly great feeling!” Lundqvist summized. “Just the fact that we turn the series around with three straight wins, and how did it, it just feels wonderful. We felt that they had a few too many lucky bounces in the early games and that we would start getting them if we just continued to play our game. We just held to our game plan without changing anything, and eventually it came out quite good.”

Luleå head coach Joakim Fagervall had nothing but praise for Frölunda's comeback effort to win the series.  

“It has been an incredibly tight series where pretty much all the games have been determined by one goal, which sums it up pretty good. I think that we gave a great effort, and we measured up pretty evenly with the second-best team during the regular season.

“I’m very impressed by what Frölunda have done and I wish them all luck I can in the semi-finals,” Fagervall concluded.

In the end, Frölunda got revenge for their CHL Final defeat, but they still have two rounds to go to reach their ultimate goal. First up in the semi-finals is another CHL club, the Växjö Lakers.

“We're really looking forward to it. It will be a great series against Växjö.” said Lundqvist. “They're strong and physical and will hit a lot, just like Luleå, but it will probably be a cleaner and more skilled series than this one. I think that their roster has more edge than Luleå's, with some great skilled players and a solid power play. So our discipline will definitely be important.”