- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 422,832
- Reaction score
- 43
You must be registered for see images attach
Frölunda are SDHL champions.
Andrea Dalen scored two goals, Michelle Karvinen had a pair of assists and Stephanie Neatby stopped 43 of 45 shots she faced en route to the team’s series clinching win in Game 3. After Frölunda improbably defeated Luleå twice on the road in games one and two, 8,442 FHC fans packed Göteborg’s Scandinavium to cheer their team to victory. The crowd was the largest ever for a women’s hockey game in Sweden, a great show of support for the women’s team that was only added to the historic club in 2022.
Frölunda first won promotion to the SDHL in 2023. That they have won the league championship in this, only their second season in the top league, is a testament to the construction prowess of GM Kim Martin and the steady leadership of Head Coach Erika Holst. Martin, the architect, started her career with FHC strong by convincing international stars Hanna Olsson, Dalen and Karvinen to play the team’s inaugural NDHL season. The trio dominated the Swedish second league in 2022-23, combining for 146 goals, 160 assists and 306 points in only 21 games. Neatby was on that team too, and won all of her 21 starts. In a surprise to no one, Frölunda won promotion to the SDHL for the following year. But the team’s meteoric rise was still only just beginning.
In their first-ever SDHL campaign, 2023-24, Frölunda finished the regular season in fourth place before being swept in the semifinals by eventual champions Luleå. A year later, FHC has now gotten their revenge and their improbable first SDHL championship.
FHC did not just beat Luleå in this Final, they swept them. Sweeps happen in sports, of course, but Luleå, incredibly, had not lost a playoff game since March 2021 (against Djurgården), and had won every single SDHL championship dating back to 2017. Until today.
For the first time in years, Luleå did not coast into the Finals. While they swept Skellefteå in the Quarters, they won two of three games by only one goal. The story was the same in the Semis, as they again earned the sweep against SDE with fragile single goal margins in each match. In the Finals, Luleå outshot Frölunda in all three games, but could not generate enough offense to win. Playing without veteran defender Jenni Hiirikoski, who was held out of all three final games due to injury, Luleå looked rudderless. Despite their roster full of talented players, they never seemed to play with the confidence one might expect of a dynasty. Star goalie Sara Grahn left Game 1 with an injury that many suspect was a concussion, missed Game 2, and returned in Game 3 to allow an uncharacteristic 3 goals on only 18 shots. Forward Viivi Vainikka tallied 10 points in 9 playoff games, but Steph Neatby, in FHC’s net, silenced Luleå’s other big guns when it mattered most, and allowed only 5 goals in three games in the Finals.
As one dynasty ends, could this be the beginning of another? Only time will tell. For now, Frölunda can focus on celebrating.
Continue reading...
