Won first SC final against Skellefteå
VÄXJÖ / Stockholm. It is an advantage for Växjö after the first SC final.
The team recovered from a 0-2 deficit and decided after 96 minutes and six seconds of play.
– It was five long periods and a long game, says champion Keegan Lowe.
Two goals scored by Skellefteå in the first half and two by Växjö in the second half.
Then the first final match of the 2023 World Cup had to be decided in extra time because the third period was scoreless.
With a 28-15 in shot stats, Växjö went into overtime with a slight advantage in the game, but it quickly made up for it when Skellefteå pushed for the winning goal in the fourth period.
“IAM relieved”
In the end, it was Vaxshaw who made the longest equalizer – with less than four minutes remaining in the fifth inning.
Keegan Lowe stayed on top of the box and made it 3-2 to Växjö after a pass from Hugo Gustafsson.
“I was up for the puck and that was a situation you were trying to take advantage of, especially on such long games,” Lowe says.
He was elated and relieved when the puck went into the net.
– There was joy when it happened, but then when all the men arrived it was just a huge relief. There were five long periods and one long game. It’s going to be a tough fight against these guys, so I’m glad we won the first game.
“Not that hard”
Växjö has now tightened its grip on SM’s latest series, which continues in Skellefteå on Monday.
– We know what we are capable of and what we must do to achieve success. We showed it during the season and in the playoffs. We didn’t manage to do it in the first two periods and we’ll try to start on time next time,” says Skellefteå striker Tom Konnkel.
It’s the little things, the little details. This is what determines when we get this far. Defender Oscar Nilsson said he will be assessed tomorrow.
Nelson doesn’t think Skelftia was too impressed by the long match.
– We’ve been training for this for a long time. I don’t think it was the exhaustion that fell on us, I didn’t feel that hard actually, he says.