Angelholm.
Under the cover of darkness and living at a secret address in northwest Scania, I now write the forbidden.
The derby between Rogel and Malmo was missing… Silfgaard.
The best day of the year is the day you want it to be over so you can play ice hockey again.
Old Spice pats cheeks, dangles a trinket with club crests from the souvenir shop in each ear, then roars “NOW GÅ GÄ JAG PÅ ICE HOCKEY” from a tambourine before slamming the door shut like Des Moroney slammed the stall. The door is closed after a late goal.
This premiere took place on a Thursday, a classic Elitserin Thursday, and despite the fact that ice hockey has been played on a Thursday forever, criticism has been heard that it was really supposed to be played on a Saturday.
The “it’s hard to sell tickets” argument has been made, but in a place that’s really interested in ice hockey, it shouldn’t be that hard to sell tickets if it’s played on a lake outside of Knisling.
Hard to sell tickets?
Rögle’s supporters could not believe their ears.
– It’s difficult… What did you say, did you say?
The first showing sold out in seconds
The bandy club craze is huge in North West Skene, when tickets for the first show against Malmö were released, they sold out in ten seconds.
Several hundred tickets per second, that’s all it takes, buddy. “Ange Marie, are you weird and putting the note on the door?”
I wonder if there is as much desire in ice hockey in Sweden for SM gold as there is here.
“The team that wins is the only thing missing.”
Many clubs have won a lot, some clubs have won enough, others not even close, and for some, that’s not really realistic.
Rögle has it all, the tradition, the culture, the economy, the arena, the restaurant that serves meatloaf for lunch on a Wednesday, they have the organization, the commitment and the passion everywhere, and perhaps even the coach and the team for it. Winning SM gold is now the only thing they lack.
On this opening night, they also had a choir playing outside the arena, bringing to mind the Skandia Cup final between IFK Norrköping and Öster in 1991.
Weak start
Before landing, the 22 home players gathered in the center circle, standing in a circle and listening to 6,000 people singing the Rögle anthem, perhaps too festive, too grandiose, because as soon as the puck was released, the home team felt a little weak in the knees.
Two explosions in 15 seconds didn’t give the mercilessly sloppy start to the game or the season we were hoping for either.
Referees Mikael Holm and Markus Linde (apparently called ‘Linde Den Blinde’ by mean referees) made a few sending offs to turn the game around, but the powerplay exuded as much confidence as a beaten dog.
Only in the second did the goals come, Malmo scored 0-1, Rogel equalized 48 seconds later, and Malmo took the lead again through new Finn Jan Kaukkanen, a name you want to proofread once and twice before sending your text to a printing press.
Was there an “OK” in the middle of the name?
bra.
It wasn’t any kind of flabby derby, halfway through I found myself standing at the popcorn stand pointing at a medium sized cone, and it was very clear that the derby lacked a strong Sylvegårds mustard.
What happened to provocations, couples’ dancing, and psychos?
Heat, emotions and gristle to be pulled away?
At least the home supporters tried with one “36.7 million in debt? Email [email protected]”– Paper tape on the stand.
Banner ++.
Just when the entire first performance was out of reach of the home team, the score reached 2-2, and with just one minute left in the match, Linus Sandin was able to take advantage of the inability of Johan Ivarsson and Jakub Galva to send the ball straight into the goal. Short edge on the other side of the ring.
3-2 and the roar that, along with the final seconds of the game, was the great achievement of the evening.
We were not offered any deeper analyzes of the outcome of the match either. After that, Thomas Kolar and Cam Abbott mostly sat and muttered in the press conference. It was impossible for an uninitiated person to know which coach won and which coach lost.
Glad it’s on, guys!
“They started the chase.”
Instead, the most comprehensive analysis was provided by Kvällsposten legend Alf Karlsson when he spoke candidly about the results of ice hockey matches;
-You never know.
You never know, but on the other hand, we suspect that Malmö just lost an ice hockey game in much the same way they did last year, and that this method puts the team in a negative qualifier.
We also know that Rögle has begun searching for that title that they must win to reach complete peace.
They have the Champions League Trophy hanging from the ceiling, and it often feels like it’s hanging there for want of nothing else, waiting for something bigger, better and more important.
Who brags about an environmentally toxic cockroach, when it’s the old cockroach that everyone wants to catch?
