Team of the Week

With just a single game this week, Timrå needed to take advantage of their opportunity to grab a very important three points if they hoped to keep pace in the standings and improve their chances of moving out of the bottom two.

Thursday

Coming into the matchup on Thursday night against Leksand, Timrå certainly were not the favourites to win. They were on a four game losing streak, they had lost two of their previous three against Leksand, they had lost their last nine away games and Leksand had won their previous four at Tegera arena. Despite the odds stacked against them, they put together an impressive and even record breaking performance.

The game started with a bang in the first period as the teams exchanged four goals in just forty seconds. Erik Andersson kicked things off for Timrå at the 9:51 mark of the frame, Max Veronneau answered back at the 10:04 mark, Robin Alvarez restored the lead at the 10:16 mark and Didrik Strömberg gave Timrå the two goal lead at the 10:31 mark. Max Veronneau would pull Leksand back within one with less than a minute remaining in the first period and the game would head to the second 3-2 in favour of Timrå. The four goals scored also set a new league record. Never before had the SHL seen four goals scored in the span of forty seconds. The previous record was set back in 1979 when Frölunda and Skellefteå accounted for four goals in fifty one seconds.

The second period continued the high pace of the game as the teams would combine for a total of 31 shots on target in the frame. Despite the massive amount of shots form both sides, each team found the back of the net just once. Sebastian Hartmann restored the two goal lead for Timrå early in the frame and Alexander Lundqvist would pull it back within one with less than two minutes remaining in the period.

Unlike the previous two periods, which were failry evenly matched, the third period would be all Timrå as they continued to pepper the net with shots. For a third stright frame Timrå put fifteen shots on target to Leksands nine. Two of those fifteen found their way in as well as Joey LaLeggia and Sebastian Hartmann would find the back of the net in the frame, securing Timrå first away win since Novemeber 27th.

With the very important three point win they now it just three points bck of Malmö and have a game in hand.

Check out full game highlights here

Player News

Rögle

The team from Ängelholm made a pair of big acquisitions this week signing both Daniel Zaar and Vojtech Mozik.

Zaar, of course, is no stranger to Rögle fans having come up through their junior program and playing five seasons for them in the SHL. Zaar spent this season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL, but with the cancellation of the KHL season, returns home to his former team.

– We are very happy that we got the opportunity and managed to reach a solution with Daniel for the rest of this season. I think everyone knows what he has contributed here over the years and what he can add to our game. We look forward to working with him again in the pursuit of our goals, says Rögle's sports director Chris Abbott.

SHL fans are also familiar with Mozik, having spent a season and a half playing with Färjestad before moving to the KHL. The 29 year old Czech defenseman spent this season with Admiral Vladivostok in the KHL.

– Vojtech is a proven elite defender who is already familiar with the SHL. We look forward to Mozik joining for the rest of the season and I know he will strengthen our already strong back line when we go to win the last match in the playoffs, says Chris Abbott.

Brynäs

Brynäs also acquired a pair of players this week, picking up Oskars Cibulskis and Tom Wandell.

Cibulskis, 33, was representing Latvia in the Olympics this year and had played this season with his hometown team Riga in the KHL, where he was an alternate captain. This will be Cibulskis first taste of Swedish hockey action, having spent his entire career playing in Latvia and the Czech Republic.

– Based on the image we have acquired from previous teammates and coaches, Oskars is a person we think will fit well into our group, says Brynäs sports manager Johan Alcén

Tom Wandell joins Brynäs as well after having not been signed by a team previously this season. Wandell spent five seasons with the Dallas Stars in the NHL but also played three seasons in the KHL before returning to the SHL in 2016. He played the last two seasons with Djurgården.

– The game schedule is tight with many matches in a short time. There is always a risk of injury and this option came up. We took the opportunity to broaden the squad, says Alcén.

Both contracts are valid through the end of the season.

Larmi

Defending SHL Champions Växjö have acquired a new goaltender from Liiga. Emil Larmi comes over from the Pelicans to help bolster the goaltending situation for the Lakers. Larmi has posted impressive stats in 32 games played with the Pelicans this season, boasting a 2.22 GAA and a .918 SV%

– We are extremely pleased to be able to link Emil Larmi to us. One of Finland's biggest goalkeeper prospects, who has already won a championship and tried out for games in North America. As a goalkeeper, Emil is an explosive goalkeeper who never gives up a puck, says Växjö's sports manager Henrik Evertsson.

Paigin

A rare sight in the SHL appeared this week as Russian Ziyat Paigan signed with Timrå. The 27 year old has spent the last few seasons in the KHL and also had a brief stint in the AHL.

– Ziyat is a large defenseman with a lot of experience from the KHL. He will add spearhead to our backside both offensively and defensively, says Timrå's sports director Kent Norberg.

Paigin is the first Russian born player in the SHL since the 2015/16 season when Vyacheslav Trukhno played for Karlskrona.

Hrivik

Big news for Leksand fans this week as last years point leader returns. Marek Hrivik, who had long been rumoured to be returning, made it official this week. Hrivik Captained the Slovakian mens team to a bronze medal in the Olympics on Saturday and has spent this season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

– We will take the rest of this season first and foremost, but we are of course open to finding a solution for Marek even in the longer term with us at Leksands IF if the conditions are there, says Leksand's GM Thomas Johansson

Hrivik led the league last year with 51 points.

Linköping

Linköping made a pair of moves this week. First and foremost being the resigning of Markus Ljungh who signed a mssive five year extension that will see him remain with the team until 2027.

– Markus is not only a very good player on the ice, but also an important leader for our team alongside the ice and a good ambassador for the LHC, says Linköping's GM Niklas Persson.

Linköping also signed Latvian Roberts Mamcics. Mamcics represented his country in the olympics this year and most recently played for Berani Zlin in the Czech League. The 26 year old will be a massive body on the blueline for LHC standing 195cm/6'5 and weighing 105KG/230lbs.

– We are entering an intense phase of the season and felt that we needed to supplement the squad with another player at the back, says Persson.

Pyrochta

Luleå was also busy this week as they have signed Czech defender Filip Pyrochta from Finnish squad SaiPa.

– It feels good that we were able to contract Filip who is a skating strong all-round back before the end of the season. This means that we broaden our backside before the playoffs, where the goal is to go all the way, says Luleå's assisted GM Ulf Engman.

Örebro

The signings continued with Örebro picking up a pair of players from the KHL this week. They signed Canadian Daniel Audette and Czech defender Libor Sulak, who was the captian of Admiral Vladivostok this year.

– We get a defenseman of good size and who moves well out on the ice. Libor is a two-way defender who has his strengths in the offensive game and who will add edge to our set of defenders, says Niklas Johansson.

Audette played this season with Vityaz Podolsk scoring 39 points in 45 games played.

– We have been looking for a forward and it therefore feels very good to be able to welcome Daniel. We get a fast player who can go both center and outside forward. Daniel has a good understanding of the game and he will add leadership to our offensive, says sports director Niklas Johansson.

Poirier

Djurgården also waded into the siging pool this week with their pick up of Canadian Émil Poirier. The 27 year old played with Dinamo Riga n the KHL and will be getting his first atste of SHL action.

– We are extremely happy that we signed Émile, who comes in as one last important piece in our team building, comments Djurgården's acting. sports director KG Stoppel.

Highlights

Check out this weeks top goals:

And saves: