3. Färjestad BK

The team from Karlstad have had great form over the month winning five out of eight matches, not losing at home in regulation and knocking in 21 goals in the process. So whilst they have blanked both Linköping HC and Luleå HF in 1-0 victories, their style has usually been more offensive simply trying to outscore their opponent.

Finnish back Jesse Virtanen (above) is now joint-leading the league in assists, with 19, as as being the league's top scoring defenseman with 21 points in total. He has left the goalscoring to his teammates, spreading that honour around the team with Joakim Nygård, Detroit Red Wings drafted Johan Ryno and Jesper Olofsson leading the way.

2. Luleå HF

The team may have struggled this month, winning only half of their eight matches, but still own a high league standing after an excellent November.

They have had a tendency to run hot or cold, twice losing without finding the net and then winning three times by three or more goals.

Whilst 29 year old American, Jack Connelly continues to lead the team overall on Total Points, it has been his experienced Swedish teammates who have kept the team in the chase and they now lie only one point behind Frölunda. Leading by example in December it has been assistant captain and 32 year old, Niklas Olausson, with 9 points (5G+4A) for the Norrbotten club (pictured above). Consistency will be the change that is needed if 2019 is be a repeat if their only Swedish championship victory in 1996.

Introduction

Whilst everyone is staring at the future stars at the Junior World Championship in Vancouver, the SHL season has been rumbling on with only a small break for the Channel One Cup at the beginning for the month.

The league has divided into two groups - the top 11 teams, separated by just 13 points and the bottom three separated by three points. It is so tight this year that goal difference may be the deciding factor between playoff or relegation come March.

Over the next few days before the next round starts we can take a look at the top six teams and one or two in the bottom half of the table.

1. Frölunda Indians

The team from Gothenburg have had a poor start to the month losing to 12th and 13th placed Mora IK and Örebro HK letting in 10 goals in the process to cause their netminders to slip in the overall save percentages. However, they have bounced back winning both matches in a double header with bottom of the table Timrå IK and winning 5-2 away from home at Skellefteå AIK.

If the beginning of the year belonged to the undrafted American Ryan Lasch, December has been a month when Anaheim Ducks drafted, Max Friberg has impressed last leading the team with nine points (3G+6A) in eight games.

Lasch and captain Joel Lundqvist still lead the team in total points, but the American has missed a handful of matches following a injury during the CHL quarterfinal match and has slipped from top spot to eighth in Total Points. However, the team continues to show the form and strength in depth , with players like Friberg, which still makes them my favourite to win both the CHL and SHL.

5. Leksand IF

Leksand have had mixed results in the run up to the Christmas period, losing the two matches against Luleå but winning both in a double header against struggling SDE Hockey.

The club's American defenders, Samantha Hanson (25 yrs) and Gracen Hirschy (23 yrs) have had a productive month in front of goal. Hirschy gained 3 goals whilst Hanson accumulated 5 points (1G + 4A) includes two assists on Hirschy's goals.

Both players came to Sweden last year making the same journey from the NCAA at University of North Dakota to bit parts at Djurgården IF. This season they both chose to move to Leksand and are the team's top scoring defenders with 33 points between them in 27 games.

4. HV71

The Jönköping club have won 4 out of 5 matches and racked up an impressive 21 goals to 7 in December. The dominance of the Finnish line mates, Riikka Välilä and Sanni Hakala cannot be understated - they either scored or assisted in 15 of the team's goals. These top two scorers for the team are currently in fifth and eighth in the league's Total Points competition. With the other six goals, American Claudia Kepler was on the ice for five of them highlighting the importance of import players in the SDHL this year. To further that, at the other end of the ice, Spanish keeper, Alba Gonzalo holds a 92.79% SVS to take second place in the netminder's competition.

3. Linköping HC

Linköping sit in third place after three victories in three matches in December. American Kennedy Marchment continued her point winning ways scoring points on every goal (3G+1A) in the 4-3 win over Djurgården IF and gaining 3 assists in the 7-0 rout over Gothenburg HC. Denise Altmann was also back in a Linköping jersey and on the score sheet as she came out of retirement to cover for the injured Swiss talent, Lara Stalder. The Austrian managed three assists to add to her totals as the SDHL highest ever scorer in all categories.

2. Luleå/ MSSK

Luleå have also had a quiet month with their only matches being the back to back away games at Leksand IF. The team's top four scorers Jenni Hiirikoski, Emma Nordin, Michelle Karvinen and Noora Tulus all got points during the games. At the back, Sara Grahn took the net in both matches and still holds the league's top save percentage with 94,77 SVS%.

But the double header was also an occasion for some of the team's less well known players to shine. For example, Japanese captain and Olympian, Chiho Osawa got a rare point with an assist on Nathalie Ferno's goal, the opening score of the first match. Meanwhile Danish international, Josefine Høegh Persson was the only player to get a goal in each game as well as one assist on Emma Nordin's 4-1 goal which put the second game out of Leksand's grasp with 16:33 to play. Luleå would go on to win the game 4-2 to add to their 2-1 victory in the first match.

Luleå still have 4/5 games in hand on their rivals but this will mean a frenetic last month in the regular season to catch up. The current champions will play 11 matches in 23 days, including two weekends in a row with matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, before a tough final match against last year's runners up, Linköping HC, to end the season on 2 February.

Tonight, Tuesday 27 December, will see the home leg of a double header against league leader's, MODO Hockey which will be followed by the away match this Sunday 29 December. If Luleå win both matches in regulation they will go top of the league in the last matches of 2018.

1. MODO Hockey

Canadian duo Michela Cava and Kaitlyn Tougas keep putting up points for MODO and lie first and sixth in Total Points in the SDHL. Both gained three points in the 9-1 drubbing of bottom of the table Gothenburg HC, Cava with 1G-2A and Tougas with 2G-1A.

However, the duo continue to lose teammates around them. Injured Marion Allemoz and Breanne Wilson-Bennett have not returned to the team and now defender Lauren Wildfang has left the club due to serious illness of a friend back in Canada.

The team has brought in 16 year old Amanda Ahlm from the juniors to replace 29 year old Allemoz and already have a number of young players in the team alongside their gifted import players. Wildfang's back partner, Swede, Mina Waxin, for example, is only 17 but is having a breakout season and played her first international games for the seniors this November.

Tonight, Tuesday 27 December, will see the away leg of a double header against second place, Luleå which will be followed by the home fixture this Sunday 29 December. If Luleå win both matches in regulation they will go top of the league in the last matches of 2018.

The Five Nations tournament in Finland and the Christmas break means that December was not such an intensive month in the SDHL with the table remaining in a similar shape to the previous month.

A tight race for the top

The top five clubs remained tightly packed with only 7 points between them, whilst Djurgården IF and Brynäs IF in sixth and seven continues to close the gap by lag behind because bad starts to the season. Brynäs IF have been buoyed by the return from concussion of Canadian superstar, Jennifer Wakefield. The team have not lost any of the four games they have played 2018 Olympic Silver medalist has scored 10 points (6G+4A) herself.

The bottom three clubs remains the same with only eighth placed AIK in a chance for the final playoff place and SDE Hockey and Gothenburg HC rooted to ninth and tenth respectively.

Ove the next five days we will take a look at each of the top five teams in turn; MODO Hockey, Luleå/MSSK, Linköping HC, HV71 and Leksand IF.

5. Denise Altmann

Austrian national captain and Linköping Dam super forward Denise Altmann decided to hang up her skates after 11 years at the club at the end of the 2017/8 season.

Now 30, she has played in every season the women's hockey league has been established in Sweden, first with the name Rikserien and then as the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She has set the records that everyone else behind must try to beat.

She finishs her career as the SDHL's highest ever scorer in Goals, Assists and Total Points. In all, she an incredible 539 Points in the regular season over 200 points (!) more than her nearest rivals.

She has twice won the championship with Linköping and twice has come second, including this season, which would be her last for the Östergötland club.

To give a comparison, hockey legend and superstar Wayne Gretzky, is the person in the NHL history who has the same position as Altmann, as the League's top Goals scorer, Assist getter and Total Points holder. The Austrian's Points Per Game of 1.77 would put her third in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

See her cheeky steal and goal at 1:55 in this recording of a Linköping match against AIK in 2014.