SHL roundup: Skelleftea edge Rogle to go second as Frolunda go five clear

Skelleftea players celebrate victory over Rogle
Skelleftea players celebrate victory over RogleNICLAS JÖNSSON / Bildbyran Photo Agency / Profimedia

Rogle briefly sat top of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) standings a few short weeks ago, but three defeats in their last four have seen them slip to third, with the latest defeat coming against Skelleftea, who won 3-2 away from home to take second place in the table.

Rogle's 3-2 loss to Vaxjo last time out had putting them within reach of in-form Skelleftea, and when Andreas Johnson put the visitors in front in Angelholm eight minutes in, that form looked set to continue, only for Fredrik Olofsson's powerplay goal to level matters before the first period was over.

That was how things stayed until the final six minutes of the second when Viktor Klingsell restored the Skelleftea lead, but again Rogle responded, this time within two minutes through Paul LaDue.

It seemed the key to Skelleftea taking all three points was giving Rogle no time to respond, and that's pretty much what happened - a last-minute powerplay resulted in Jonathan Pudas giving the away side their third lead of the game with 24 seconds to play, and this time Rogle could not hit back.

A fourth win in a row for Skelleftea sees them move onto 43 points, ahead of Rogle on goal difference.

Another stumble for Rogle allowed Frolunda to extend their lead at the top of the standings to five points, which they did by beating Malmo 3-0, though they needed two goals in the final 02:30 to get the victory sealed. Lars Johansson was forced into just nine saves to earn the shutout.

That ended a four-match winning run for the Redhawks; they slip to ninth having been overtaken by Brynas, for whom Axel Andersson scored a hat-trick in their 8-5 win over Timra, whose inconsistent form hasn't seen them lose sixth place for now.

Vaxjo's and Djurgarden's places in the top six are not under threat for now, after they won 4-1 and 3-1 over the bottom two teams, Leksand and Linkoping, respectively.

Neither of the two teams above the relegation places managed to take advantage, as HV 71 were beaten 6-1 on the road by Farjestad, while Orebro saw all 17 of their shots on target saved by Joel Lassinantti, as Lulea won 3-0 away from home.

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