Elias Fälth was one of Frölunda Gothenburg’s new recruits for this season. A couple days after the team's victory in the first game of the CHL semi-finals, he analysed the team's play and what lies ahead in the next week.

by Efraim Larsson

GOTHENBURG – Coming into the first semi-final game against Finnish club Kärpät Oulu, Frölunda Gothenburg have had a tough stretch lately with just two wins in the last 11 games in the Swedish Hockey League. After a well-played game at Frölundaborg, Frölunda has a great opportunity as they take a two-goal lead into the rematch next week. Elias Fälth explained his feeling after the win:

“We are really pleased by carrying a two-goal advantage into the second game after facing such a highly skilled and solid playing team like Kärpät. Too bad we let them score late in the game to cut the deficit, but I'd rather go into game two being two goals up than two goals behind.”

You’ve had a tough time lately, but in game one against Kärpät you played more like how you started the season. What was the biggest difference in your game plan between the game against Kärpät and the two losses against Örebro and Djurgården last week?

“You know, we ended our seven-game losing streak by beating Modo (2–0) and Leksand (2–1), two bottom teams in the SHL if you look at the standings. But we played two really good games there, and unfortunately we moved on with two terrible games against Djurgården (0–2) and Örebro (1–4). But against Kärpät I think we managed to find our “main game plan” a bit – the game plan we started the season with – with high pressure in both fore- and back-checking and high intensity.

“Sure, we haven’t won many games lately and we haven’t been playing particularly well at all, but you should know that all of us on the team work hard every day and definitely want to win every game. But I think our biggest problem has been that we (the players) have played on different levels which has caused asymmetry in the roster. Some guys have been playing as we’ve been told, other have played differently – perhaps too hard and intense. But our coaching staff brought us together just a couple of days ago and discussed it and it felt like all of us were responsive and learned a lesson; as you could see in the game against Kärpät.”

So, exactly what parts were better against Kärpät, and what parts do you need to work on before the second game?

“I think we managed to play a high-intense fore- and back-check and we had good pressure on their goalie. The power play worked out quite well too, and it’s just small details like those that worked out better against Kärpät than the last time in the Swedish Hockey League. Of course there are some minor things we need to work on leading up to game two, though. It’s a new game with new presumptions, so we have to reload.”

You claimed that your power play worked out well, and we all know that your PP has been tremendous in the CHL. But in the SHL it hasn’t been that good. What do you think is the biggest difference?

“It’s difficult to say, but I guess that we’re a pinch better at penalty killing here in Sweden that they are internationally. I don’t think that they’re aggressive enough and their probably not as careful with getting in the shot lanes as we are in the SHL. But there are also random things that affect the outcome. We made a few adjustments before the game and it succeeded.”

There occurred a problem with the ice that caused a 90-minute delay with just eight minutes played in the second period. What did you do down in the locker room to stay active, and how was the atmosphere?

“First and foremost, it was not expected at all and as well a bit weird, because it doesn’t happen that often. But we couldn’t do anything but take off our equipment and take it from there, and everyone chose to keep themselves busy in different ways. Some chose to stay active by doing some physical exercise, some took a snack or ate something bigger while some guys played soccer. Thanks to the length of the intermission we even had some time to watch videos and talk about tactical moves we could improve.

“We all felt that we had a great chance of winning the game, so I think all of us felt that we needed to stay focused to be prepared for when the game resumed.”

How difficult is it to stay focused throughout a break like that?

“I think that’s very much up to each individual. Personally I wouldn’t be able to sit still and focused for 90 minutes. That would just not work out for me. So I guess it’s better to relax and take it for what it is, because we also got 20 minutes to prepare ourselves before the game was supposed to resume – so from there it was just like any regular pre-game warm-up.”

The team scored two goals shortly after the break and increased your lead to 4–1, and you scored the game-winning goal (3–1). Explain it.

“We were playing the power play and Mikael (Wikstrand) made a great move at the blue line that tricked their guy that covered the passing line to me and he was able to pass it to me and I actually had the easiest job on that setup. Anton Blidh should get the most credit thanks to his brilliant work in front of the goal where he totally blinded their goalie and made it impossible for him to see the puck. With guys sacrificing their bodies like that it’s rather easy to score; I just have to make sure that I’m positioned correctly and that I get to take a great shot.”

In the CHL you have scored 8 points (3 goals + 5 assists) in nine games, and in the SHL you have 14 (5+9) in 34 games. What do you think about your individual performance so far this season?

“I think it has been acceptable so far. I would like to contribute a bit more in the scoring column and the offensive side of things, but I’m not the only one in the club not scoring a ton of points. Personally I think I’ve held an acceptable and solid standard in most of the games and I think I’m pretty good with spreading calmness to my teammates and accepting the role Roger (Rönnberg, head coach) wants me to take.

“Of course you always want to be better and if I take a look at myself that would be to play with a higher lowest quality and a bit higher regular standard. But we've said the whole season that we need to be at our best when the playoffs start, and a big part of that, of course, is that we as individuals are better by the start of the playoffs.”

Tonight you face Skellefteå, tomorrow Linköping and on Tuesday you’ll play the second game of the semi-finals against Kärpät – all three games on the road. What can we expect from that tough road trip?

“All of these will be high-quality games, and I think we and our fans look forward to them a lot. The games against Skellefteå are always really good ones and on top of that they've started to get a bit hot-tempered, not just on the ice but also between our coaches. So it has almost started to grow into a little derby feeling between us, which I love. We have three straight victories on the road against them (3–1, 6–1, 6–1) and it will be a great game against an extremely high-skilled team with a great home record.

“I expect that both Linköping and Kärpät will be just as tough as Skellefteå. Kärpät have some speedy guys with great stick handling and we will be facing an even tougher task than in game one. But none of those games will be like the others and all three have different circumstances, so we will have to play at our best to have a shot. But it will be a great and exciting task which I look forward to!”