Halifax. Junior crowns slipped dramatically in the semi-finals.
And Fabian Liesel went out into the mixed area with shining eyes and saw himself:
– I do it so bad the whole tournament. I don’t know what to do, says the Swedish forward.
Up front, Fabian Liesel was one of the absolute key players in the tournament. But the fast striker did not let him lose in the tournament.
After six matches, he was scoreless and in the semi-finals against the Czech Republic he and the team suffered an incredibly heavy loss.
The Czech Republic tied the game at 1-1 with 38 seconds remaining, then decided the match in overtime with just 50 seconds remaining.
And it’s the frustrated Fabian Liesel that Sportbladet is talking to in the mixed zone.
Frustrated by the loss – but above all by his performance:
– I don’t know…, many have fought so well, he says first before beginning to publicize his own efforts:
– I do it so bad the whole tournament. I don’t know what to do.
You are incredibly self-critical
– It’s tough. I don’t know if you’ve ever gone through this. I don’t have much more to say than that.
Burning an impressive five-for-three center
What do you feel didn’t work?
– everything. Speed, fast game, timing in everything. It will be a good motivation for the future, if I may say so.
How frustrating was he?
– It was difficult, of course. I just tried to get my head up and work. I came from a good season where a lot went my way and I played well, so I don’t really understand why. But … yes, sometimes it is, says Liesel, who during the fall scored points (19 out of 20 games) in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.
Power play was the big problem facing Junior Crowns during the tournament, a form of play that, among other things, Liesel was supposed to play a big part in. Against the Czech Republic, Tegan Jr., with Liesel on the ice, had to play five-for-three in 1.55 without getting a bonus:
– They checked the version we were going to run, and they knew exactly what we were going to do. Then we didn’t have much to come up with. I tried some gear shifting but it just didn’t fit.
Now the bronze match awaits instead of the final:
– You can recharge, but at the moment you are not satisfied.
