Skellefteå’s first final in 33 years

31 Mar 2011 | Fredrik Pålsson

It was a very even semi final but in the end Skellefteå was stronger and beat Luleå with 4-2 in games after 4-3 on away in the sixth game.

For the first time since 1978 Skellefteå AIK has qualified for the final in the Swedish Championship. After trailing the semi final series against Luleå 0-2 the black and yellow team won four straight game to qualify for the final against Färjestad.

In today's game Skellefteå got a dream start and had a 2-0 lead after eight minutes. Luleå's goalie Anders Nilsson has been very good in the earlier games but both those goals looked easy. First Christian Söderström made a great individual effort to move in on goal but his backhand finish didn't look too hard. David Rundblad added 2-0 with a flip shot from the blueline on power play.

In the five previous games only three power play goals were scored, today four power play goals were scored. Joonas Vihko scored two of them, 1-2 and 2-3. Between those goals Jimmie Ericsson scored 1-3 with a great shot on a shorthanded counter attack. Another great power play shot by Janne Niinima tied the game halfway through the game.

After that it felt like Luleå would be able to take the semi final to seven games but Tim Erixon scored the game winner 10:41 into the third period, another shot that didn't look impossible to save.

Luleå has been the best team on defense and has made a fantastic season to reach so far but Skellefteå is stronger on offense which made the difference. Skellefteå can now look forward to a thrilling final against Färjestad.