Finals over

Färjestad began the game with some quick goals, and hung on to win. They won their second championship in seven years but they have been in the finals every one of those last seven years, so this one was a while in coming.

Färjestad was just hungrier. They had some big time players who came through for them, like their goalie Daniel Henriksson. The Swedish League has some pretty good goalies, not least Tommy Salo, but Henriksson played well when it counted and their defense stood up to Frölunda as well. Other stars were Jesper Mattsson who played for Calgary, Jonas Höglund from Toronto, Rikard Wallin from the Wild, Radek Hamr from Ottowa, and of course Jörgen Jönnsson who is just the epitome of a class player. Färjestad has lots of players with NHL experience, but so did Frölunda, so that was not the distinguishing factor. It really was desire to win because on paper Frölunda was the better team. Tommy Salo played brilliantly, I hope he returns to the league next year because he saved our bacon many a time.

Next year I hope they cut down on the clutching and grabbing and we should have one of the most intersting seasons in a long while. Up next; the World Cup.

Joel Lundqvist, Henrik's twin strikes back.

Joel has not had as much press outside of Sweden as his twin brother Henrik has, not even in Sweden for that matter. But he is a solid player who I think will eventually play in the NHL, if that is his wish. He works really hardö digging in the corners, finishing his checks, playing with agression. He has come up big in some key moments, not least on Saturday when his goal in overtime tied the series.

He has to rally the troops today. Frölunda is down 3 - 2 in games to Färjestad and they play on Färjestad's home ice tonight. Färjestad has a bigger hockey rink in terms of crowd capacity that Frölunda does, despite the fact that Frälunda plays in a more populous city. The fans turn out for hockey in Färjestad (Karlstad) and that arena is loud. But I would not count Frölunda out just yet. Färjestad has appeared to want it more than Frälunda most matches though, they come out like a firestorm in the first period and Salo has been brilliant keeping the team in the games. But Frölunda cannot keep playing from behind as they constantly seem to be doing, it is just that much harder to win.

Färjestad has been a bit careless recently, they ran Salo last night and taunted him all game in an attempt to take him out of his game. Salo has been brilliant and he thrives on this sort of competition so I do not think their strategy will work. It might just serve to provide the kind of wake up call the Indians need. I do know that if we win to night and there is a game seven for Frölunda on home ice, there will be few betting against the home team.

Collapse!

There is no other word to use. Two game sevens, two huge collapsing sounds heard.

The first was the loudest; HV-71 choking on a hockey puck fired right at them. They were leading the game 3 - 1 and Färjestad came back to win 4 - 3! What a collapse from the team that lead the league all season and had one of the best goaltenders in Stefan Liv. He is streaky however, and he can play poorly at times, really poorly. Nonetheless, Färjestad found a way to win as the cliche goes and they poured it on. They had trouble scoring goals all season but now everythging they shoot goes in. Amazing.

The second big defeat was Linköping's saddest moment. They had never gone so far in the play-offs before and they were beating the champions to a pulp, they had them three games to one. But then they lost one, then they lost another on home ice to set up game seven away. Then they lost game seven. Three in a row. Ouch.

Two big game sevens!

For the first time in Swedish hockey history (apparently) there will be two game sevens to decide the Semi-finals. Last night HV-71 got spanked by Färjestad 6 - 1 and Frölunda convincingly beat Linköping at home to force a game seven.

The HV-71 game was remarkable in that within the first few minutes HV was already down 2 zip. The goals were pretty soft, one was just a soft lob from the right wing that the goalie, Stefan Liv misplayed. His goaltending was so bad that he apologized live on TV before the game was over. He is an agressive competitor so that must have tasted bitter, but he is a very good goalie, world-class in fact, and he will bounce back. What HV needs is their sharpshooter to score some goals. People like gold medal winner Mika Hannula need to drive the scoring and get Andreas Karlsson and company involved.

Frölunda showed Linköping how a champion plays. They showed courage and tenacity after being down 3 - 1 in games and coming back to even the series. The next game is in Gothenburg where the house will be rocking for Frölunda. Tommy Salo deserves much of the credit for getting Frölunda here. In a league full of very good goaltenders, Salo has been the standout of the Semi-finals. He has made some extraordinary saves and been a rock of stability for Frölunda as they regained their ability to score. Linköping has been disciplined and puts serious pressure on the puck, they have scorers and an irresistible force in Shane Willis. Willis has brought some North American attitude to the Swedish playoffs and has been the difference in most of Linköpings wins. But Salo has stood up to the challenge and played brilliantly. He is one of the great Swedish hockey players of our time and perhaps all time.

Another former North American player made a difference last night - Jason Krog. He whipped off a deadly accurate wrister past Finnish goalie Norrena to put Frölunda up 4 - 1. Krog has nearly a point a game during his time here in Sweden after coming over from Switzerland and whatever happens the rest of the year I hope he stays.

Semi-finals

The Swedish Elite League semis are here and the best teams have made it. But now, we will see if playoff hockey separates the men from the boys.

The top four ranked teams are here: Frölunda Indians, Linköping, HV-71, and Färjestad. No surprises really, they all played well all season long. Now we will see if a hot goaltender emerges or if some player rises to seize the day. So far there are a few candidates. From Linköping comes Fredrik Norrena who has played very well. He was helped by the pipes last time against Frölunda but he is always in position and is disciplined. He played for Finland in the Olympics this year though not in the final against Sweden. Canadian Shane Willis (who played with the Hurricanes and with the Lightning) is having a very good post season. He maybe taking a few too many penalties but he looks like his legs are fresh and he is playing with grit.

Frölunda needs their stars to step up and score some goals. The second and third lines also need to be better. Magnus Kahnberg, who is going to play in St. Louis, has been playing poorly, he needs to get it together for Frölunda to win.

HV-71 and Färjestad are all tied up 2-2, which I find surprising since HV has the better goalie in Stefan Liv and have been dominant this season. I expect them to win it all. But that is why they play them and today, Linköping and Frölunda go head to head - without a win today in Linköping the team from Gothenburg will not be defending their title. Hopefully Tommy Salo and company can get it together.