Rögle rode the nine miles to a packed Malmö Arena.
And sometimes he humiliated the home team.
There was a class difference in the derby. It was boys against men.
I’ll start by saying that my visits to Malmö Arena are not among the most frequent in the SHL. The main reason is that a full arena attracts more than half full.
And half-full (or half-empty, take your pick) is often the most beautiful and second-largest hockey arena in Sweden.
However, not today.
Percy Hockey Temple in Healy has been sold. The last time this actually happened was nearly four years ago.
Well, on 30 September 2021, there were also 12,600 spectators, restrictions had just been lifted and Malmö celebrated its 50th anniversary and tickets were sold for 50 SEK each.
But the last date I can find when the Malmö Arena was sold out without activated ticket prices was 28 December 2019. Now, as then, it was a derby match against Rögle. A match in which the North West Skin team won 4-1.
Now Röglefansen’s team occupied the arena with a few thousand traveling supporters, and sometimes took it over as well.
Rögle won (4-0) and there was no talking about it from the first drop.
Although Malmo took a slight lead in the third period, Rögel returned home and was sent off.
Rögle was on – Malmö tense
Outside it was a magical fall day with sunshine and some extra temperatures. While large parts of Sweden are covered in a winter blanket, it remains bare in Skåne.
Outside the square was filled with t-shirts and scarves, and most of what I saw was actually green and white.
Inside Malmö Stadium, it was set for a hockey party – but only one team put on a show.
The only positive thing about Malmo’s first half was that the score was only 0-2.
After 15 minutes it was probably 0-5.
Joachim Ryan’s wobbly antics were supposed to symbolize Malmo’s pale start.
Those who watched their first SHL match of the season could not have understood that these two teams were neck-and-neck in the table.
Rögle lit up
Malmö was nervous.
The home team had enormous problems handling the puck in its own zone when Rögle (not at all unexpectedly) chose to go aggressively on his forecheck. The pucks scattered in all directions.
A timeout took place after nine minutes
Rögle’s lead goal after just 78 seconds came after a panicked icing and subsequent draw.
The clear shot by Lori Pajoniemi was about what Malmö created.
Adam Tambellini stepped up on the power play after a 9.46.
Then Tomas Kolar took a timeout. Even though a power outage is only seconds away.
That says something about how things looked and how dissatisfied the Malmo coach was.
Things did not improve much in the second half.
Malmö certainly ran into a few situations that Christopher Refalke had resolved earlier in the season, but the feeling was that Rögle did little as he wanted.
Malmö (now Jan Kaukkanen) played solid again. Adam Tambellini and Rodrigo Ables took over and the latter made it 3-0 five minutes after the middle of the first half.
A series with Tambellini, Apollos and Everberg in the mood for the game is a nightmare to contend with. Closer to 300 kilos of weight and skill.
November may be the month of November and what is sometimes called a slump series, but there was certainly more than just rivalry and prestige to play for.
Before relegation, there was only one point and one place separating the two teams just above the qualifying line. Both teams are in a part of the table where a few points could make the difference between fifth and twelfth place.
When November began, Malmö sat in fourth place, a full 11 points behind top seed Ruggel in 12th. But in November, the teams took different paths, with Rögel winning four out of five matches, while Malmö won just one out of five.
Two arrows in opposite directions were further strengthened in today’s derby.
Rögle back where you should be
After a shaky fall to say the least, Rogel is already on the move.
Cam Abbott’s side are at their best when they play direct and simple from their own box. Once they reach the strike zone, there will be no amount of offensive ammunition left.
Above all, play from his own area changed, or returned to normal.. Rögle entered the season “playing like Växjö”. There is nothing wrong with following the best, but it also means that you as a coach must feel secure about what will be conveyed and it must also be in line with the DNA of the team.
The copy is rarely as good as the original.
I don’t think Rögle has the back matter to play waiting without the puck in his zone and be very creative with the puck in the build-up phase
Development never goes wrong, but Rögle, with so many skilled attackers, was at his best when he stuck to simple, quick play.
And now it seems that you are back there again – and the climb to the top has begun.
Malmo’s trend is (not at all unexpected) going in the other direction. As many expected, this will be a battle to avoid qualification.
After the second half, scattered whistles were heard from the home team’s fans.
It has been just over two years since the Malmö Arena was sold. I’m afraid it will take a while until next time.