Weekly Recap: Saturday Shutouts

Saturday

It was a busy week in the SHL with all teams playing games on Saturday and Thursday and all but two teams playing games on Tuesday evening as well. However, it was Saturday that proved to be a good day to be a goalie as four of the seven games played ended up in a shutout. 

We'll start with Linköpings impressive win in Leksand on Saturday afternoon. Coming off a big 4-0 shutout win on Thursday against MoDo they were hoping to carry that momentum into their next game. Although the game remained scoreless in the first, Linköping blew the game wide open in the second as they were able to score a trio of goals in just 40 seconds. That proved to be more than enough, but a fourth goal in the third was the nail in the coffin for Leksand as Linköping won easily. Jesper Myrenberg posted his second shutout in a row after stopping all 24 shots he faced. 

The second shutout of the day was a much tighter contest and a lot closer than most people had probably expected. Despite being the home team Oskarshamn were the heavy underdogs as they hosted Frölunda on Saturday afternoon. This one turned out to be a real goaltenders duel as it looked like the game might go to overtime locked at a scoreless tie. Both Emil Kruse and Lars Johansson turned aside all the shots they faced in the first 54 minutes of the game. Unfortunately for Kruse, Frölunda would finally find a way past him and ripple the mesh with just under six minutes remaining in the third frame. That would be the only goal of the game and Frölunda would come away with the road victory. All in all Emil Kruse turned aside 29 of the 30 shots he faced and Johansson would turn aside all 25 shots against him. 

SUVAD MRKONJIC / BILDBYRÅN

The third game of the afternoon also ended in a shutout, this time it was between MoDo and Rögle. After getting shutout on Thursday evening and having lost three in a row MoDo were hoping to turn things around and that's exactly what they did. Lassi Lehtinen turned aside all 28 shots he faced and MoDo backed him up with a pair of goals to come away with the 2-0 victory. 

The fourth and final shutout of the day came on Saturday evening and believe it or not, just like the first three this shutout was also posted by the away team. The Växjö Lakers and Luleå faced off at Coop Norbotten Arena in Northern Sweden on Saturday evening. This game was especially important in the standings as Luleå sat just three points back of Växjö and had an opportunity to pull even with them. Unfortunately for Luleå it would be an absolutely dominant performance by Växjö. The visitors were able to hold Luleå to just 15 shots on net throughout the entire game including a first period that saw no shots on target by the home team. Five shots in the second and ten in third were not enough to beat Emil Larmi who turned all shots aside and the Lakers would pot a pair of goals to come away with the 2-0 victory. 

All in all 92 shots were saved on Saturday without allowing a goal. 

Dichow

A mid season lateral move happened this week as Frederick Dichow has left Frölunda and joined HV71. Dichow joined Frölunda last season and saw action in 16 games, he has also started six games this season for Frölunda but has struggled between the pipes. In those six games he has posted a 3.08 GAA and just an .890 SV% with a record of 1-4. 

- Frederik is a great and modern goalkeeper and we feel that we need to strengthen the goalkeeper side. He has worked well with Joel before and we think he can relieve Joni in a good way. At the same time, Victor Brattström has expressed that he wants to have a bigger role and play more matches. It is of course not sustainable with three goalkeepers and we are working on finding a solution for Victor, says HV's sporting director Kent Norberg.

The move sees Dichow reunited with goaltender coach Joel Gistedt, who has previously worked with him in Kristianstad. The contract is valid for the remainder of the season. 

JOHAN BERNSTRÖM / Bildbyrån

Bichsel

After being drafted 18th overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft by Dallas Lian Bichsel decided to head to North America this season in hoping of cracking the Stars roster. Unfortunately he was sent down to the AHL where he has played 16 games this season. The 19 year old Swiss national played the past two seasons with Leksand and will be returning to Sweden, however, to play with Rögle instead. 

- We respect Lian's decision to return to Rögle for the rest of the season and we look forward to following his continued development. Lian is a big part of our future and we look forward to his return to Texas this spring, says Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill.

Örebro

It's all about goaltenders this week as Örebro has been forced to bring in some help between the pipes, at least for the short term. With Jonas Arntzen on the injured reserve list Örebro has brought in Isak Johansson from Hockey Ettan. The young goaltender had a brief stint in Hockey Allsvenskan but has spent the majority of his professional career in Hockey Ettan. He is being brought in for just a week and will serve as a backup to Jhonas Enroth. 

- In the current situation we have on the goalkeeper side, we have chosen to loan Isak for a week. For us, it is important that Herman gets matches and now he will be able to focus fully on the J20. This will also be a good opportunity for us to get to know a promising young goalkeeper like Isak. We want to say a big thank you to Hudiksvall for the opportunity to loan Isak at short notice, says Örebro's sporting director Niklas Eriksson.