As we get closer and closer to puck drop on the new season, all teams in the league are warming up, testing out line combinations and getting used to fans being back in the stands. The new season officially kicks off on September 11th, but before then, we'll see plenty of pre season action.
August 18th
This past week pre season schedule kicked off on Wednesday with a trio of games featuring SHL teams and one HockeyAllsvenskan team.
Frölunda and Leksand met for the first time this pre season and put together an exciting game. Leksand would take a 2-0 lead in the third period and it looked as if their efforts would be enough to come away with the win. However, Frölunda was able to score a pair of goals late in the third, including the tying goal with just 17 seconds remaining in the game. The OT period would not result in a winner so a shootout would be needed where newly returned Ryan Lasch would score the only goal and give Frölunda the 3-2 win.
Skellefteå played host to Björklöven on Wednesday night and the visitors came out flying. Björklöven managed to take a 2-0 lead within the first four minutes of the game. Unfortunately for them that is all the offence they would muster as Skellefteå would battle back and score five unanswered to come away with the 5-2 victory. The newly acquired young goaltender, Strauss Mann, got his first taste of Swedish hockey in the game and came away with the win on his birthday.
The final game of the day was a matchup between Örebro and Oskarshamn that saw Örebro come away with the 3-1 victory. With fans returning to the stands many players have already vocied their happiness about hearing the cheers from their supporters, after the game goalie Jonas Arnzten commented that is was "Unbelievable to be able to hear the audience again".
August 19th
Thursday provided a full slate of pre season hockey action with six games on the schedule.
Former SHL rivals HV71 and Linköping faced off in Jönköping. HV71, of course, coming off their clubs first relegation since the mid 80's, put forth a good effort in the game and came away with the 2-1 victory in overtime. Linköpings pre season woes continue as they registered their third straight loss before the season gets underway.
Frölundas second game in as many days was just as, if not more, successful than their first as they faced off against Färjestad. For the third year in a row Frölunda won the pre season Strömstad Hockey Classic with their 3-1 win. It was their final game of the pre season before starting Champions League Hockey next week.
The Malmö Redhawks put forth a solid performace against defending champs Växjö on Thursday night as they came away with a hard fought 2-1 victory. 17 year old Leon Matthiasson made his debut with the big club saying "It was powerful to be able to wear the Malmö shirt". Matthiasson has spent his entire junior career with the Malmö organization.
Luleås pre season success continued as they came away with a 3-1 win against Finnish team Kärpät. Brynäs handed HockeyAllsvenskan team AIK a 4-2 loss and Rögle came away with a big 4-0 shutout victory over Oskarshamn.
August 20th
The week of pre season action rolled on into a busy Friday night around the league with four games on the schedule.
All four winners from the evenings game did so by scoring five goals. Örebro came away with a 5-2 victory over Djurgården. Leksand handed Färjestad a 5-3 loss. Björklöven upset Timrå with a 5-2 result and Skellefteå came away with a big 5-1 victory over MODO.
Örebros victory over Djurgården came infront of a small crowd in Köping, where they displayed some of the younger talent in their organization, including 16 year old Leo Carlsson who dawned the big teams jersey for the first time. The game also marked Örebros third pre season contest and their third pre season victory.
August 21st
The final game of the week was the sole game on Saturday as HockeyAllsvenskan team Troja-Ljungby played host to Rögle. Cam Abbotts squad was looking to continue their pre season success with their third stright victory and did so in decisive fashion. The first period saw Rögle get off to a string start with a trio of goals. Despite a push back in the second by Troja-Ljungby, Rögle proved to be to much for them as they gave up another trio of goals and fell 6-2 in the game. Rögle also showcased some of their younger players, as they decided to rest a few of their veterans. In fact, nine players on the squad for Rögle on Saturday were born in the 2000's, demonstrating the strong young core of prospects the organization has.
Player Movement
There was just a handfull of transactions this week concerning SHL teams.
Linköpings Dan Pettersson announced on Monday that he has decided to call it a career. The 28 year old struggled to find success in the SHL as the 80 games over 3 season in the big league saw him score just 4 goals and add 7 assists. He also spent 4 season in HockeyAllsvenskan and 5 seasons in HockeyEttan with Västervik, Oloström and Mora.
Another announcement concerning a player from Linköping was made this week as Anton Karlsson will be moving to Färjestad for the upcoming season. The 28 year old defenseman returned to Linköping last season after starting with HV71. Previous to that he played 5 season with LHC and was apart of their J20 and J18 teams. Karlsson has played 257 games with LHC in career.
A pair of Canadians were part of the transactions this week as JC Lipon will be moving from Oskarshamn to German team the Straubing Tigers. Lipon played just 8 games with Oskarshamn this past season after coming over from Dinamo Riga in the KHL.
The fourth and final transaction of the week saw Djurgården sign Matt Lorito from the San Diego Gulls in the AHL. The 31 year old from Oakville Ontario has been a career AHL player, having also played with Albany, Grand Rapids, Bridgeport Sound and Toronto.