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SHL roundup: Frolunda take series lead and Skelleftea hit back

Frolunda celebrate Max Westergard's goal in their win over Lulea
Frolunda celebrate Max Westergard's goal in their win over LuleaMICHAEL ERICHSEN / Bildbyran Photo Agency / Profimedia
A second win in a row has given Frolunda the lead for the first time in their Swedish Hockey League (SHL) Semi-Final series against Lulea, after Skelleftea got themselves a first win against Brynas.

Taking a 2-0 lead set Frolunda up well for a 5-2 win away from home in game two, and did so again back on home ice last night, as the Gothenburg side ran out 5-3 victors.

Tom Nilsson wasn't the intended target of a pass from behind the net, but when the puck fell kindly for him, he made no mistake guiding it home in the fourth minute.

It was all too easy for the hosts four minutes later when Linus Hogberg played the puck across to Mikael Ruohomaa, who applied a simple finish in front of the net.

Late in the first, Lulea were back in the match when Mathias Brome's shot found a way through Lars Johansson, who did not cover himself in glory after some key saves earlier in the period.

The two-goal advantage was restored in the second period when Max Westergard fired into the net on the rebound, only for the lead to be snuffed out quickly.

David Granberg took advantage of some sloppy play from Frolunda inside their defensive zone to score, then two minutes later Isac Hedqvist was in the right place to tuck home an equaliser.

But Frolunda regrouped ahead of the third period, and only 01:32 into it found themselves back in front following an accurate slap shot from Arttu Ruotsalainen found the back of the net.

Five minutes from time, the win was secured after Ruotsalainen did well to keep the Frolunda attack moving before setting up Linus Weissbach.

Game four of the series will also be at the Scandinavium tomorrow evening.

After back-to-back defeats in Gavle, Skelleftea returned to home ice in style on Tuesday with a 5-1 win over Brynas to cut the regular season champions' lead in their Semi-Final series to 2-1.

Jonathan Davidsson set the mood for the evening by rifling Skelleftea ahead in just the second minute.

The home side didn't look back - Max Lindholm put them 2-0 up inside five minutes, before Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Par Lindholm added a further two unanswered goals in the second.

Brandsegg-Nygard added his second of the match to make it 5-0 early in the final period, before Brynas finally got on the board with six minutes to play when Oskar Lindblom deflected the puck in.

Skelleftea will be hoping for a similar display when they host game four tonight.

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