Oskarshamn

There was an impressive amount of teams this week who took advantage of the three game schedule to improve their position in the standings, but none more so than Oskarshamn. The team came into this week having lost five of their previous six games and were struggling to find momentum. However, this week, they put on quite the performance and took advantage of the leagues three game schedule over the past seven days.

They kicked off the week with with a great performance against Brynäs on the road. It was a very important game as far as the standings were concerned as Brynäs was also struggling to move out of the bottom four. Oskarshamns star duo of Patrik Kalrkvist and Antti Suomela combined for three of their four total goals. Brynäs, however, managed to muster just a single goal in the game despite the fact they heavily outshot Oskarshamn 43-23. It was a great performance between the pipes by goaltender Joe Cannata to claim his ninth win of the season.

Thursday evening was equally as important as Oskarshamn came up against another struggling team, the Malmö Redhawks. It was a very tight game as the only offence until the third period would be a lone tally from Johan Olofsson in the opening frame to give Malmö the 1-0 lead. They would extend that lead early in the third period. Undaunted however, Oskarshamn fought back to score a goal and then with just ten seconds remaining in regulation and the net empty, Myles Powell would find the back of the net to tie the game and force it into overtime. Hynek Zohorna would play overtime hero for Oskarshamn as he scored the game winning goal with just twenty one seconds remaining in the extra frame a grabbing an important extra point in the standings.

Oskarshamn kept the momentum rolling into Saturday as they faced of against Leksand at home. It was just the second meeting between these two teams this season and Leksand came away with the victory in their first game. The game was very tight and back and forth through the first two periods as each team scored a goal in the first and the second frames. However the third period was where Oskarshamn once again came alive. They managed to score a pair of goals in 67 seconds and would hold on to win 4-2 to finish off their very successful week.

Having claimed eight of a possible nine points this week Oskarshamn pulled themselves out of the bottom four and are now sitting tenth overall in the standings with 31 points. They will try and extend their streak this week with two tough matchups as they face off agains Frölunda on Thursday and Örebro on Saturday.

Off Ice News

Kempe

Luleå made a pair of acquisitions this week to try and boost their offensive lines. They have signed 34 year old forward Mario Kempe, who has not played in the SHL since 2014 when he was part of MoDo. Since his departure from the league he has played in North America with the Arizona Coyotes and their AHL afilliate. He has also played six seasons in the KHL with Vityaz Podolsk, CSKA Moscow and most recently Dinamo Minsk.

– It feels very good that we have now signed Mario Kempe for this and next season. He is a technical player with really good skating. Which makes us think that he will fit perfectly into our way of playing. In addition, he has plenty of experience from matches at the international top level, which is an added bonus as the season progresses, says Luleå Sports Director Stefan Nilsson.

In addition to his professional career, Kempe also won a silver medal with team Sweden at the 2007/08 World Junior Championships. His new contract is valid until the end of next season.

Sallinen

Luleå also signed Tomi Sallinen to a new contract after the 33 year old forward started the season playing in the Czech League. Sallinen is no stranger to the SHL as he has played six seasons in the league with Leksand, Djurgården, Färjestad and Brynäs.

– It feels great to return to the SHL again and to play for Luleå Hockey, which I know has a good team and which I have only heard good things about. With this done, I'm looking forward to flying north and meeting the guys on the team and getting started with games with my new team.

The contract is valid until the end of this season.

Niemelä

Brynäs has also signed a Finn this week, recruiting defender Mikko Niemelä. The 32 year old has spent his entire professional career playing in Finland, the majority of which he has played with Kärpät.

– He is a defensive back with good size who plays a sacrifice game. Physical and solid, while he is also very mobile on the ice, says sports director Johan Alcén

Niemelas career highlights include three Liiga Championships with Kärpät. The contract is valid until the end of the season.

Marenis

Örebro has called up Rihard Marenis from MoDo in HockeyAllsvenskan this week. The 29 year old Latvian started his swedish career in HockeyEttan during the 2020/21 season and has shown great offensive capability as he has made his way to the top league in the country. Previous to his time in Sweden he played two season in the KHL with Dynamo Riga and was a collegiate player in the US with Aurora University in the NCAA.

– We are getting a player who will contribute with good energy and who will help us during the rest of the season, says Örebro's sporting director Stefan Bengtzén.