It’s easy to put a speech bubble on the match between Nybro and AIK.
Bang. Jeff. Explosion.
An island walk in the Småland forests with penalties, running over goalkeepers and wet gloves to the face.
But when the smoke cleared, AEK had crushed Småland’s side.
AIK won 6-0 in the end after showing great defense, a good goalkeeper in Antoine Bibeau and effective power play.
Add a new heavyweight series with Canadian Branden Truock, Chris Kontos and Daniel Muzito Baginda, who were very effective, scoring four of the six goals.
No one weighs less than 90 kilograms, and Truuk and Kontos weigh close to a hundred kilograms.
There were different weight classes when they were on the ice.
Nibro held on for a while as they were hit twice in the ribs and won the shots by a score of 17-7.
But it was AIK who scored the only goal when Branden Truock slotted his first goal past Joel Lundqvist in front of the box on the power play.
Nybro’s shot advantage is now largely due to AIK’s William Ignberg Nilsson receiving a match penalty and a 5+20 for a header early 6.19 into the game.
1/2Photo: Tobias Sterner / BuildBerron
Not your average newcomer
No, I didn’t like Nibro this evening.
They were at least one digit lower than AIK.
Perhaps it was a wake-up call after four straight wins, with three of those wins coming at home against Tingsried and Östersund x2.
The most impressive victory was a 3-1 away victory over Moura.
Now, Nibro is no longer your average newcomer, but they have recruited aggressively and hired veteran Tommy Samuelson as their coach in the booth.
Samuelson, who is on the verge of being called a hockey guru at this point.
But now he has been beaten by his friend Fredrik Stillman, who has helped out on the AIK wing this season.
Samuelsson and Stillman brought the HV71 back to the SHL together last season, before being fired from the Småländers last spring.
No one was happier than me
AIK now settled this game in the second half, with Daniel Muzito Baginda scoring 2-0 in a new numerical advantage, before Branden Truock continued his scoring display.
The score was 3-0 and it was a cannonball shot under the bar behind Tex Williamson and when he made it 4-0 he ‘fooled’ the ball from close range in a free position.
In the third period, freshman fullback Tom Hedberg finished with a 5-0 run and Zion Nebek scored 6-0 and it was overwhelming.
It was possible that Nybro’s streak would be broken, the day after Modo’s streak at home against Leksand (0-4) on Tuesday.
Hockey is the most popular team in Sweden by far.
Now they have to wake up to a new reality.
But no one was happier than me about the start of Nibiru.
It’s always exhilarating when newcomers scream, even though I nominated Nibro as a mid-range team.
The best in Stockholm now
In this case, I see that the neighbor and fourth in the standings, Kalmar, represents a greater shock, especially after a new victory at home against Beck Karlskoga with a score of 3-2. Also, after shifting to an 0-2 deficit.
AIK has even bigger ambitions, and sporting director Niklas Persson’s goal is to finish in the top four.
It’s a difficult goal considering the competition, but after watching this match it doesn’t seem entirely impossible.
It was these kind of games that AIK lost last season, when in fact they were the worst away team in the series.
The fact that the team eventually finished 10th and secured the final playoff spot was entirely due to the strength at home.
In this way, this was something completely different.
And if this new series featuring Muzito Bagenda, Branden Troock, and Chris Kontos can continue in the same vein, then you’re well on your way.
At the same time, I wonder if AIK are not the best in Stockholm at the moment, after Djurgården’s surprise loss at home to Moura (0-4) and Södertälje’s unexpected fall to Alamtuna (1-4).
Björklöven are the new league leaders after another strong performance away to Västerås.
They are a goal machine, and after a 3-0 run last period and a 5-2 overall record, they have scored as many as 24 goals in five games.
At the same time, they have already played two more games than the preferred Brinas team in an already needlessly lopsided table.