Lulia had set the table for a party.
Then he led Brenas Norbotten to the Swedish League final with a score of 7-2.
I don’t know if coach Henrik Glass gave the same fiery speech that legendary Tommy Sandlin gave before the men’s classic final between the two teams in 1993.
But it had the same effect.
The link to the 1993 men’s final came naturally to Gävle after losing at home the last time and falling 2-1 behind in matches.
The men’s team was in the same situation 29 years ago when they went to Lulea for the fourth game and where the home team had the opportunity to make the decision in their own building.
Before that match Sandlin gave his famous samurai speech and I saw in the local papers that Henrik Glass was in the same class before this match.
This time Brenas’ men won 6-2, after which he witnessed a dramatic fifth win and a decisive match at home with a score of 3-1.
Now the women are in the exact same position.
And that’s after an even bigger crush this evening, with the score already 6-1 midway through the second half.
It went over and over again before half of the match was even played.
By then, Brenas had scored four goals in less than ten minutes, after an early period in which Swiss superstar Lara Stalders became highly controversial.
Unfortunately, it was an obvious offside for Staller before this goal, which the referees missed.
If hockey had a VAR rating like football, that goal would never have been approved and I think it is very unfortunate because of such mistakes in the Sweden final.
It’s just taking lessons, reworking, and doing the right thing.
It may not be all wrong with the challenge with the manager, as the weak team can review the goal later.
Now he finished 2-1 shortly thereafter and Brenas fired in just 21 seconds.
Of course it is possible to debate the meaning of this offside goal, but as the match unfolded there was no talk,
The second period begins with Lulea losing the disc to the offensive blues, Josephine Buffing freeing and a 3-1 lead after just 30 seconds.
Then 4-1 when Maja Nelin Persson’s hill turned blue.
Soon enough, it was Maja Nelen Persson herself who had a great goal post, sending the ball across the crossbar and this time much closer to the goal.
I sat there and enjoyed watching the young Swedish player in the midst of foreign domination and Maja came out in the second half with two goals and two assists in the middle of the period in a period that ended 5-0.
A great achievement he shared with the Czech star Katerina Mrazova.
Priceless routine
The score was now 7-2 at the end after the third half as both teams were looking to play and looking forward to the next game.
It will now be a very important fifth game in Gavle on Thursday and I think it could be the same happy ending for Prenas as it was for the men as they faced a 2-0 defeat in the matches.
I also think it’s good for women’s hockey that Brenas win her first historic gold medal.
They have already reached the final four times, but have never won.
Now I never count a team like Lulia, who have participated in four Swedish finals and won all of them, the last three of which I played. There is a dependable story and an invaluable routine.
But this time it was real hockey fever in Gavle, as the team set a new record for women’s hockey attendance in the third final of the Swedish League, when it sat 6537 in the Monitor ERP Arena.
Records that they also stole it from Lulia.
Now I think the new record will actually be broken on Thursday, because it will be the fifth decisive match.
I think having more champions is different from women’s hockey, and that’s just as important as well-established clubs.
So it is gratifying that Frolunda is investing heavily in a women’s team for next season and aims to move up immediately.
They opened with the signing of local star Hana Olsson and Finnish international star Michelle Karvenen who will be ready to build the new team for sporting director Kim Martin Hesson.
I would like to see a similar bet from Färjestad, who has a women’s team but lost the semi-finals to Malmö in the qualifiers.
Skellefteå came close again this year and pushed SDHL Göteborg HC to play but fell 2-1 in the matches.
It was a bit unfortunate, when Gutenberg’s future was bleak and Frolonda was already attracting some of the biggest talent for next season.
If I’m going to referee Gothenburg, where there has been chaos already during the season, I will seriously consider resigning from the SDHL next winter.
With all due respect to their hard work, the club earned a point in the 36 games they played in the Core Series this year and last.
And the next season looks even worse.
Those huge gaps in a streak of just ten teams are never good.
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