Brynäs IF are rising stars in the SDHL, have bought a team in the summer of 2018 to challenge at the top of the women's hockey league. Sitting in third before today's match they could take second place away from visiting Luleå/ MSSK if they won.
This top of the table clash was played by 11 of the league's top 16 scorers. But it was the current champions who put on a powerful display to humiliate the young pretenders, who were on home ice. Luleå did it primarily with a third period where they scored three goals without reply to win the game 2-7.
Brynäs got goals through their newly bought stars - drawing level through former Toronto Furies' Michela Cava at the end of the first period at 1-1. Then reducing the deficit to just 2-3 with c. 5 minutes to go in the second period through the league's top scorer and Swiss international, Lara Stalder.
But it was the Finnish pairing of forward, Michelle Karvinen and defender, Ronja Savolainen who, almost single-handedly, destroyed the Gävle team today.
The 29 year old forward has missed nine league matches, as well as an international duty for an undisclosed injury. But Karvinen was back to the kind of form that won her the SDHL top scorer's prize three years in a row from 2015/6-2017/8 with 2G+2A.
Meanwhile the 22 year old Savolainen was involved in all three of the team's final period goals with 1G+2A as she chases HV71's US Olympic Gold medalist, Sidney Morin for the top scoring defender of the year competition.
HV71 remain at the top of the SDHL, but Luleå showed the kind of form which makes them a likely bet to be joining the Jönköping team in the final in a few months time.
@ABritOnThinIce1
