Rögle Ängelholm’s 3-2 regulation win over SønderjyskE Vojens put them back top of Group D and secured them a Playoff place. 

The Swedes were the dominant side throughout but SønderjyskE, who have now suffered five-straight defeats, will take heart from a committed performance. 

SønderjyskE might have been the underdogs going into the game, but it was the hosts who struck first when defenceman Andreas Holzmann fired a shot from the blue line through traffic and deflected of William Boysen past netmender Calle Clang.

Rögle responded with two quick-fire goals that turned the game around. Applying sustained pressure with successive powerplays including a brief five-on-three attempt, SønderjyskE’s penalty kill couldn’t quash the see out the second and when Nicolaj Henriksen struggled to cover up Ludvig Larsson’s shot, Anton Bengtsson was on hand to bury the loose puck to tie the game. Twenty-five seconds later, Bengtsson tallied a second! This time scoring from inside the slot to score twice on the same shift. 

SønderjyskE struggled to utilise an early powerplay opportunity in the second period and instead it was Rögle who looked the more likely to add to their lead short-handed, as leading scorer Larson threatened. Despite struggling to compete in Group D, SønderjyskE enjoyed some good spells of pressure and an offside whistle denied them a two-on-one opportunity as the hosts continued to push.

Sammuel Johannenson then made it 3-1 to Rögle in opportunistic fashion. SønderjyskE goalie Nicolaj Henriksen lost his footing after colliding with his own defenceman to leave Johanneson with a wide open net to shoot into, after receiving a pass from Adam Tambellini.

SønderjyskE’s Marco Petersen denied Robert Lantosi’s one-timer with a desperate block that prevented Rögle from adding a near-certain fourth goal. And just when it seemed that Swedes might pull further ahead SønderjyskE spectacularly cut Rögle’s lead down to one-goal. 

Steffan Frank forced a turnover with Rögle on the powerplay and rushed up the ice to wire a shot in off the iron and over Clang’s glove.

Lightning almost struck twice when SønderjyskE forced another turnover when shorthanded and broke, this time denied by Clang. 

Seeking a game-tying goal, SønderjyskE struggled to generate offence in the final period but their battling penalty kill continued to keep them in the game as Rögle dominated in both zone time and the face-off circles to close out the win that guaranteed them group qualification.