IK Oskarshamn

It was a meeting of two stuggling teams on Tuesday evening as Malmö had recently snapped a lengthy losing streak at home and Oskarshamn had lost three of their last five games. Malmö had also lost their last five matches against Oskarshamn, stretching back to last season, so the Redhawks were hoping to turn things around. Unfortunately for them, Oskarshamn had other plans.

Most of the game action took place in the second period as Malmö opened the scoring in the second half of the frame. However, Oskarshamn would answer with a pair of goals in just 56 seconds to take the 2-1 lead into the third period. They'd carry that momentum into the final frame as they were able to ripple the mesh just over three minutes in and extend their lead to two. Despite peppering the net with 13 shots in the frame Malmö was unable to muster any offence and would lose their sixth straight game to Oskarshamn. The loss also continued the Redhawks woes at home as the defeat marked their 13th loss in their past 14 home games.

After facing off against the leagues worst on Tuesday Oskarshamn was staring down the leagues best on Thursday evening as they faced off at home against Skellefteå. This was a big game for Skellefteå as they were looking to set the all time win streak record in the SHL as they had won their previous 16 games. However there was one things standing in their way, literally.

Despite being heavily outshot the home team was still able to come away with an unlikely victory, thanks in no small part to the play of Tim Juel standing tall between the pipes. The net minder turned aside 41 of the 42 shots he faced, while Oskarshamn managed just 21 shots of their own. Undeterred by the lopsided stats in the shot category Oskarshamn was able to pot a pair of goals in the second and an empty netter late in the third to seal the 3-1 victory and spoiling Skellefteås attempt at a new win record.

– So damn nice, I wanted to be a pig out there and wanted to ruin it for Skellefteå so much. When a record is at stake like that, they have the mentality that it's us against everyone, so they are very strong up front and I got to step up with a couple of match-winning saves, says an extremely happy Tim Juel.

The third and final matchup of the week for Oskarshamn was a Saturday evening game against Leksand, which was a big game for both teams as Leksand sat just one point ahead of Oskarshamn in the standings.

Similar to Thursday evenings game, Oskarshamn was once again outshot throughout this matchup, but also to similar to Thursday evenings game, it did not deter them. Each team would net a goal in the first period, but it was the third where the game really took off. A pair of goals by Patrik Karlkvist gave Oskarshamn the 3-1 lead and that would be enough. Leksand would manage just a single goal in the frame and an empty netter by Antti Suomela secured the 4-2 victory for Oskarshamn and completed their perfect 9 point week.

With their success this week Oskarshamn now sits 8th overall in the standings with 46 points.

Off Ice News

Tömmernes

Frölunda is welcoming back Henrik Tömmernes. The 32 year old Swede has spent the past six seasons playing in Switzerland and will finish this season with his club before returning to Sweden for the start of next season. Previous to that he played six seasons with Frölunda as well as a brief stint in the AHL and Liiga.

– We hold Henrik in high regard. He is a top tier defender who has been a top defender in Switzerland for many years. He will be a core and star player for us, says Fredrik Sjöström

The new contract will see Tömmernes remain with Frölunda until the end of the 26/27 season.

Maxwell

The Malmö Redhawks have acquired American goaltender Brandon Maxwell this week. Maxwell, who is of German descent, has spent the past three seasons in Germany with the Fischtown Penguins in Germanys top league.

– For several years, Brandon has shown proof that he is a skilled goalkeeper on the European stage and for us it feels good that we can broaden the goalkeeper side, now that we will miss Daniel for some time to come. Brandon will be able to help us in a good way, says Malmö Redhawks sports manager, Björn Liljander.

This will not be Maxwells first taste of Swedish hockey as the 31 year old played a full season with Rögle in HockeyAllsvenskan back in 2013/14.

Loans

Maxwell is not the only goaltender to be recruited this week as both Oskarshamn and Skellefteå have called up a net minder. Emil Kruse has been loaned to Oskarshamn from Västervik in HockeyAllsvenskan and Jonathan Stålberg jumps up to Skellefteå from Kalmar in HockeyEttan.