Växjö stormed towards SM Gold.
Away in Skellefteå the onslaught really softened and they won their fourth SM final with 4-1.
Now Växjö can take home the gold on Monday.
Växjö has been slow to get going in recent matches. But on the way to a 4-1 win in Skellefteå on Saturday, things went better.
In the last final in Skellefteå, Växjö managed just 11 shots over three periods. This time they carried a total of 15 balls on goal in the first half and got a bonus – twice again.
“tree”
First Keegan Lowe scored 1-0 after 11 minutes of play and two minutes later it was Hardy’s Hamann Aktel turn. The slender defender fired a thunderous shot right after the signature found its way over the bar.
– He also sends her there. What a gem. Baam says. You don’t have time to see it until it’s jiggled in the net, says C Moore broadcast expert Staffan Kronwall.
– I got a good hit. It slipped on me slowly and fit very well, says Hardy Hamann Aktel.
Skellefteå switched gears in the second half and was incredibly close to stepping up, but Oscar Müller missed a somewhat open goal. A few seconds later, Växjö came on an offensive run and Joel Kellman made it 3-0.
Mueller cut back at the end of the middle but the third period could have started better for the home team.
Unfortunate expulsion
Måns Forsfjäll’s stick broke and he went to get a new one, but then another player jumped in and Skellefteå went for a six-man throw out on the ice. The guests benefited when Kellman made it 4-1 in the last second of a power play
– A very unfortunate situation, says Staffan Kronwall of the expulsion.
Skelleftea pressed hard after the heavy goal from behind and also took the goalkeeper off with about seven minutes left in the match.
But there was no goal and Växjö won 4-1.
Växjö is now leading 3-1 in matches and can therefore claim SM gold at home on Monday.