Brynäs IF took a commanding lead in the SM-final series against Frölunda HC with a decisive 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. The game, a rematch of last year’s semifinal clash, saw Brynäs jump out to an early advantage and never gaze back.
Viivi Vainikka opened the scoring for Brynäs just four minutes into the contest, blasting a powerful shot from the right side to make it 1-0. Elin Svensson quickly doubled the lead less than two minutes later, extending the advantage to 2-0 at the 5:25 mark.
Before the first period concluded, Brynäs added two more goals, building a commanding 4-0 lead. The dominant first period left Frölunda facing a steep uphill battle.
“Not at all the start we wanted,” commented Hanna Olsson during the first intermission. “They were able to score some easy goals, we made mistakes on the powerplay and lost our structure. We need to increase our competitiveness and desire to win battles before we can even talk about our game. We have a lot to improve on in the second.”
Olsson continued, “We need to be much tougher. It’s tough to get in front of their net, so it needs to be just as tough to get in front of ours. We have an incredibly skilled goalie, but we can’t expect her to stop everything. It’s up to us to clear out those loose pucks.”
Despite a slightly improved showing as the game progressed, Frölunda struggled to overcome the early deficit. Tuva Kandell finally broke Brynäs’ shutout with a goal just past the quarter-mark of the third period, offering a glimmer of hope for the home side. However, it proved to be the lone goal for Frölunda, as Brynäs held on to win 4-1.
“We weren’t in it from the start, which wasn’t good on our part,” said Andrea Dalen after the final buzzer. “It’s a little hard to pinpoint what went wrong, but if we knew, we might have been able to stop it. Brynäs came out hard, pressured us, and forced us into a lot of turnovers with the puck. It’s unacceptable, and we’re not happy with the first period. It’s important to forget about this game. It’s a playoff series, and it’s first to three wins. We need to recharge, regain our energy, and do everything much better in the next game.”
Game two of the series is scheduled for Tuesday, also in Scandinavium. Tickets are available through this link.
