It was a summit in which defense and goalkeepers played the main roles.
Neither Färjestad nor Växjö scored a goal in regular time or extra time in an SHL meeting.
– Really stable. After FC Karlstad won the penalty shootout, 1-0, we didn’t give them much,” said Matt Tomkins, the Karlstad goalkeeper.
It finished third in the table against the series leader in Karlstad in SHL ice hockey.
Färjestad came with four straight wins, while Växjö had not lost against any team other than record-setting Skellefteå since 24 November.
In the early 2000s, Jørgen Johnson as a player led Färjestad to 16 consecutive victories, a record he now shares with Västerbottings, who were suspended by Oskarshamn on the eve of the Epiphany.
Now Johnson was on his “team” Karlstad as head coach for the second time. Growth has been surprisingly fast in the suit of former Växjö coach and current national team captain Sam Hallam.
After just over halfway through his first season as head coach in Småland, Jönssonligan is at the top of the league – despite Skellefteå’s success.
– We’ve put together a series of matches of varying quality but found ways to win. There is strength in our team, Jörgen Jönsson told C More.
“narrow”
The away match against defending champions Färjestad was another good test of the team’s ability.
Växjö played disciplinedly and goalkeeper Emil Larmi kept tight.
– I feel good when we have a high pace with the puck and attack when we have to. And when we play an organized, organized defensive game. We do that in a lot of matches,” Johnson told C More.
Färjestad also kept their defense together after celebrating the goal in Örebro last time, 5-4 after extra time, but the progression forward was slow.
– They are tight. They stand with five men in front of the goal. However, we did create some good chances. A fairly even game, the in-form Joachim Nygaard told Cy Moore.
with no goal
The team pushed the decision in front of them and after two periods it was still scoreless.
It’s a war of positions. Lots of brawling, long and involved. I don’t think we’ll get any momentum in it,” Jurgen Johnson said.
He stressed the importance of patience.
More of these things were needed, because even the third period and overtime passed without the teams being able to break the deadlock.
In the penalty shootout, Victor Eggesel and Daniel Fiksten scored for Vargstad, while Matt Tomkins kept clean sheets until the first clean sheet of the season.