Game 2 preview: Luleå Hockey vs Skellefteå AIK

Luleå Hockey and Skellefteå tied Game 1 of their CHL semi-final last week in Skellefteå, so that means tonight's game in Luleå is a winner-take-all for a trip to the final. Read below to get all the facts you need for this clash between two bitter rivals from northern Sweden.

by Efraim Larsson

Game 2 facts

Time & place: 19:00 at Coop Norrboten Arena, Luleå (20:00 EET).
Television: SVT, MTV, ONE World Sports, L'Equipe 21, ESPN Brazil, Premier Sports, Slovak Sport.
Referees: Daniel Piechaczek (GER), Aleksi Rantala (FIN). Linesmen: Emil Yletyinen (SWE), Johannes Käck (SWE).
Live blog

Road to the semi-finals

Both Luleå HF and Skellefteå AIK won five of their six Group Stage games, only losing the road game against their top Finnish contenders (Luleå against Lukko Rauma and Skellefteå against IFK Helsinki).

Luleå finished second in Group K with 15 points and the best goal difference of the Group Stage, +26 (32–6). In the eighth-finals, Luleå lost the first game 4–2 on home ice against Red Bull Salzburg before pulling off a stunning comeback in Game 2. After falling behind 4–1 in the first period (a total aggregate of 8–3), they scored five straight goals in the second period and eventually won the series in a shootout. In the quarter-finals they renewed acquaintances with Lukko and knocked them out them after a 7–3 aggregate win (5–2 and 2–1).

Skellefteå, on the other hand, won Group J with 15 points and finished the Group Stage with a goal difference of +12 (20–8). In Game 1 of the eighth-finals against JYP Jyväskylä, Skellefteå managed to cut a 5–1 deficit to 5–4 in the third period to give them a better chance in the rematch – and what a rematch it was! JYP had a 2–1 lead (7–5 on aggregate) with three minutes left of the game, but Skellefteå scored twice with their goalie out in the final 2:40 to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, Skellefteå won it in a shootout. In the quarter-finals they faced Swedish rivals Linköping HC and managed to advance after, yet again, a tight series and a dramatic shootout.

Game 1 recap

In Game 1 Luleå got a great start when Lars Bryggman scored just 92 seconds into the game. Skellefteå scored twice to lead 2–1 but couldn’t hold on in the end and Luleå managed to tie it up with just 64 seconds left when defenceman Kristian Näkyvä bombed the puck in from the blue line on the power play.

Read more from the game here and the live blog here.

Statistics

In the last nine meetings (SHL or CHL) where Skellefteå have scored the first goal against Luleå they have managed to win. In six of the first seven CHL games Skellefteå scored the first goal, but in the last four games their opponents have scored the first.

In the SHL, Skellefteå have allowed the first goal in five of their last eight games and four of their last five on the road. Luleå have allowed the first goal in the three last SHL games, but have scored the first in eight of the last 12. On home ice they have scored the first goal in five of the six last games.

The first period is likely to be huge because Luleå is the second-best first period team in the CHL. With a record of 6–3–2 (W–T–L) and a goal difference of +9 (16–7), Luleå have put many opponents away before the first intermission.

Skellefteå started the CHL with a first period record of 3–1–1 and a goal difference of +4 (5–1) in their first games – four games with no goals allowed. In the six games since they have allowed goals in each first period, holding a record of 0–2–4 and a goal difference of −4 (4–8).

Special teams

Luleå have the sixth-ranked power play in the CHL with 19 goals out of 62 chances (30.65%). Skellefteå are 26th at 18.37% (9 goals on 49 chances) but definitely have the better penalty killing of the two teams with 85.29% (5 goals allowed on 34 shorthanded situations), which is good enough for the sixth-best PK in the tournament. Coincidentally, Luleå are ranked 26th in penalty killing with 6 goals allowed on 29 opportunities (79.31%).

In Game 1, Skellefteå didn’t score on any of their three power plays, while Luleå took advantage of one of their five chances.

Player statistics

Luleå’s Cramo Top Scorer Daniel Zaar has 13 points (6 goals + 7 assists) in 11 games and is fifth place in overall CHL scoring. He’s closely followed by Lucas Wallmark, Niklas Fogström and Per Ledin with 11 points each (all have 5+6 in 11 games, Ledin in 10). Näkyvä is their top-scoring defenceman with 3 goals and 7 assists in 11 games.

The Cramo Top Scorer of Skellefteå, Pär Lindholm, is seventh place CHL scoring with 12 points (1+11) in 11 games. Two players are tied for the team lead in goals with 5: Oskar Sundqvist (9 points) and Erik Forssell (8 points), and they are – together with Daniel Widing (9 points = 3+6) – ranked second through fourth in team scoring.

Skellefteå is the CHL's most penalized team with 172 minutes in their 11 games. Leading that column is defenceman Martin Ševc, who’s tied for second place in the CHL's penalty minutes column with 42 in 9 games – he added to that total in Game 1 with a late misconduct penalty. Slightly behind Ševc are young forwards Martin Pettersson (31 PIM) and Anton Karlsson (29 PIM, but now in Frölunda).

Looking ahead

In the SHL, these two teams have faced each other four times this season. Luleå won the first battle 3–2 in a shootout on home ice, but since then Skellefteå have won three straight in regulation time. Of the last nine games between the teams, each have won four times with one tie, but Skellefteå have a slight advantage in the goal difference (+4, 26–22).

When the teams last met each other at Coop Norrbotten Arena in Luleå, Skellefteå took a 4–2 victory to break Luleå’s three-game winning streak against Skellefteå. In their 13 last meetings in Luleå, Skellefteå have 7 wins against Luleå’s 6 and an overall goal advantage of +11 (36–25).

Both teams are coming into the game with a win, a tie and a loss in their three last games – the tie coming against each other in Game 1 of this series. Luleå beat the Växjo Lakers 3–1 at home and lost 2–0 at Brynäs Gävle, while Skellefteå won 7–2 in Gävle and lost 3–2 at home to Frölunda.

Luleå have only three wins in the last seven games, but six wins in their last 10. On home ice they have won their last four games and have seven wins in their last eight, which is solid. Skellefteå have won five of their last seven games, but those five are also the only wins they have in the last 10 games. On the road they have four straight wins and, impressively, eight wins in the last 10 games.

This battle will definitely be a great one between these two bitter rivals from the north of Sweden. It’s difficult to say which team will be on top and advance to the final, and chances are it could come down to whoever gets a lucky break at a key moment.