They left it late, but the home crowd at Coop Norrbotten Arena didn’t mind one bit.
Luleå grabbed a dramatic 1-0 Overtime win against Örebro on Monday evening to win the best-of-three series 2-1 and to secure a spot in the Swedish Hockey League Quarter-Finals.
Juhani Tyrväinen was the hero for the home team. He won the face-off draw and then headed to the net where Linus Omark’s shot deflected off the Finnish forward and the puck found its way past Örebro goaltender Jonas Arntzen to spark delirium among players and fans alike.
It was a tough way for Örebro to see their season come to an end; however, unfortunately for Niklas Eriksson’s team it could be said to be a fitting end to the game. They caused themselves problems all game long by taking a series of penalties, including a 5-and-Game for 18-year-old Melvin Fernström after he planted Jesper Sellgren head first onto the ice in a move more suited to a WWE ring than an ice rink.
They kept finding a way to fight through the numerical disadvantage, but when William Wikman took a High-sticking penalty 12 minutes into the Overtime period if felt like they may have gone to the well once too often. That premonition proved accurate barely six seconds after the puck had been dropped for the resulting face-off.
Luleå will have a couple of days off before beginning their best-of-seven Quarter-Final against reigning SHL Champions Växjö on Thursday evening. Rögle, the other R16 series winners, will face the regular season champions Färjestad.
