Linköping Dam Hockey’s #22 and captain Denise Altmann retires as player from women’s hockey. She is the league’s top goal scorer, top assist getter and top in total points- a record held in the NHL by legend Wayne Gretzky.

Game 4

The match started off with a first period which saw plenty of goal chances. It was home team Skellefteå AIK, in arguably their best period of the whole series, that came out 12-11 victors on shots on goal over Växjö Lakers, but no goals.

Both teams probably had their best chance in the first three minutes, first when Joakim Lindström had a one-on-one with keeper, Viktor Andrén after stealing the puck whilst the Lakers were on a line change, only to hit the puck into the keeper's glove hand. Former Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks forward, Dennis Rasmussen then hit the post for the Lakers, so that the score remained 0-0 into the first break.

Just as in the other games, just as momentum seem to indicate that Skellefteå were close to scoring, it was in fact the Lakers who would scored - this time twice through wonder kid, Elias Pettersson. Both times the talented Vancouver Canucks' drafted forward received the puck from teammates who had stolen it from their rivals as Skellefteå's forwards were on a line change to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

When Emil Djuse sat out for Tripping on Lakers' captain, Liam Reddox, it was Finn Janne Pesonen at 18:44 in the second period who smacked in the puck in from the blue line to make it 3-0 and it seemed that it was time to start putting the blue and orange ribbons on the Le Mat Trophy.

If there were any doubts as to who would win this match, Robert Rosén and Eric Martinsson made it absolutely certain to see Växjö run out 5-0 winners on the day.

With that Växjö Lakers deservedly won the Swedish national title 2017-8 for the second time in the club's history.

Game 3

The first period finished 0-0 with Skellefteå AIK probably feeling pleased with themselves creating 6 minutes of Power Play action against the home team, Växjö Lakers.

But in the second, the first goal would appear go to Lakers' Andrew Calof who shot, then slammed in the rebound that came off Skellefteå keeper, Joni Ortio. The puck had flown high in the air after the first shot, and the Canadian waited patiently for it to come below the goal's crossbar before swatting it out of the air like a dead fly and into the net. But it turned out Calof should have waited a few milliseconds more - the video referee waved the goal off, a decision that could easily have gone either way.

The miss spurred on Skellefteå and finally, after seven periods without a goal against the team from Småland, Oscar Möller beautifully deflected in the puck from a shot from the blue line.

But their first lead in the series lasted only 4 minutes as Lakers' defenseman Oliver Bohm also netted with a skillful deflection in front of goal.

It was be another Rosén-Pettersson show that give the home team the lead. As Robert Rosén took the puck clockwise around the back of the goal, that would give Elias Pettersson time to creep into the slot unmarked and tap in the timely backhand pass from the 30 year old Swede.

And despite great forward play of Skellefteå in the third period, it was Calof who would get the first goal, finally get on the scoresheet on a counterattack. Receiving the puck in the offensive zone with no one in front of him, it felt like a reprise of his penalty from the last game. This time the 26-year-old made no mistake, smashing the puck into the top right corner for 3-1.

And that's how it remained until, who else but, Elias Pettersson scored the empty net goal to make it 4-1 at the finish.

Skellefteå's best match was not enough and they go 0-3 in the series, knowing that tomorrow they could see Växjö Lakers win the Le Mat Trophy on their home ice in the Kraft Arena.

Game 2

Apart from having the "extra man" in terms of the partisan home crowd, Skellefteå AIK were able to field a team including Jonathan Pudas. The back, who on average has the most ice time in the whole team, played only four minutes in the first game due to an undisclosed injury sustained just before puck drop.

However, it was as business as usual in Växjö Lakers and the same names proved their status and this season's playoff hockey players par excellence.

It was Elias Pettersson who perhaps shone brightest in the first period. Receiving the puck from Rosén who had driven into the zone at speed. The 19 year old had the sense to pause long enough to see his best option was to sling the puck back to Daniel Rahimi who had come in fresh from the bench into the oceans of space left in Rosén's wake. The defenseman smashed the puck into the top right corner leaving Joni Ortio helpless in goal.

Pettersson took the Lakers into a 2-0 lead when he skillful turned in Rosén's shot - that after having been checked into the side wall and cross checked in front of goal seconds before finding the net.

At the back Viktor Andrén was an immovable rock, especially in the second period which was one of Skellefteå best in the series so far. Many chances, but crucially no goals, although there were a number of power play opportunities as Brendan Shinnimin (VLA) and Jimmie Ericsson (SKE), among others, went for collecting Penalty Minutes instead of scoring goals.

But the third period belonged to the Lakers and most of all, Robert Rosén who scored twice, once after only 14 seconds, and secondly at 4:34 closing off immediately any thought of a comeback for Skellefteå. That meant Rosén picked up 4 points (2+2) in just this one game. Even a missed penalty by Andrew Calof couldn't dampen the Lakers spirits as they ran out 4-0 victors by the final whistle.

Skellefteå AIK will need to find something very special if they are defy the pundits and even get close to winning a game, let alone the series, as momentum lies firmly in the 2014/5 champions side.

Game 1

Both defenseman Noah Welch and first choice keeper Viktor Fasth were unavailable due to injury for the Lakers.

But it didn't seem to make much difference to the home team, as they pressured Skellefteå AIK into uncharacteristic mistakes in their own zone which led to goals from former Portland Pirates (AHL) hard man, Brendan Shinnimin and then captain, Liam Reddox in the first period.

The pain continued in the second period for the northerners. They were unable to establish any form of attack whatsoever as Växjö's high forechecking repeatedly disrupted their play before they got anywhere near the Lakers' defensive area.

Then the home club turned up the skills level. First, a beautiful team goal as Joel Persson passed from behind his own the goal line along the right hand side to Pettersson, who entered the zone and chipped the puck delicately to Robert Rosén who shot to the right of Joni Ortio beating him on the narrow side for 3-0.

Then Elias Pettersson set up and scored the next goal. He took off and drove into the offensive zone with force, momentarily losing the puck as he squeezed through two defenders, only to receive back from team mate Shinnimin seconds later and set it firmly in the net. Magic!

4-0 after 40 minutes would have been unthinkable before the game. And the third period produce three more goals, not a classic Skellefteå comeback, but a total whitewash, as Andrew Calof, then Rosén, and finally, Daniel Rahimi all found the net destroying Skellefeteå 7-0 with second string keeper, Viktor Andrén, gaining a shutout.

Psychologically, after a victory which seemed to show an enormous difference between the two teams, Skellefteå must win their next game in their hometown to be in a shout of turning the series around.

This year's final is a repeat of the 2015 SHL Final which saw Växjö Lakers as underdogs gaining an unexpected victory over twice reigning champions, Skellefteå AIK. This time the Lakers come in as favourites after a faultless regular season whereas Skellefteå's weakness has been inconsistency.

Here's a look at the four key battles which will determine who will pick up the Le Mat Trophy in 2018.

1. Goalkeeping: A classic battle of Finnish youth vs Swedish experience

Skellefteå's first choice keeper is Finn Joni Ortio. The 26 year old was drafted as early as 2009 by Calgary Flames, for whom he has already played 37 games. Now back in Europe, he is in his second season in the SHL and has the best stats of the two keepers in the Playoffs.

35 year old Viktor Fasth first played for Växjö from 2007-2009 and has been a late bloomer compared to his rival. Back in Sweden for the first time since then after several seasons in the NHL, AHL and KHL, he led the SHL in shutouts outperforming his opponent in the regular season.

Advantage: Skellefteå - Ortio is thriving in the playoffs and has youth on his side.

2. Växjö Attack - Is Elias Pettersson simply too good for Skellefteå?

Ones to watch: Elias Pettersson, Andrew Calof and Robert Rosén (VLA)

Ones to watch: Emil Djuse, Mark Katic and Henrik Hetta (SKE)

All eyes will be on the 19 year old, 2017 Vancouver Canucks drafted, Elias Pettersson. He has an opportunity to crown the season off as league champion as well as best in Total Points.

But he is not alone.

26 year old Canadian, Andrew Calof, will face his former teammates, and this could be the series that sees him established as one of the best import players in Sweden today.

And let's not forget Robert Rosén. The 30-year-old is one of the more underrated talents in the SHL, sneaking in just behind the Top 10 in Total Points in the regular season.

Amazingly, Petterson, Calof and Rosén don't have a single game in the NHL, AHL or KHL between them but still collected 137 points in the regular season.

There is no doubt that Skellefteå's top hitter Swede, Emil Djuse, now back from two months out with concussion, as well as Canadian defenseman Mark Katic are going to have a very busy time. Can they cope with the Lakers awesome firepower where threats appear on every line?

The secret to blunting the Växjö Lakers attack will be holding them in their defensive zone through proactive forchecking, breaking up the forward passing play and aggressively defending the blue line.

A key player in this will be Skellefteå forward, Henrik Hetta. He came seventh in the whole SHL for hits.

But hemming in the Lakers through active forechecking has it's own risks, especially for one of Skellefteå's star strikers, Joakim Lindström. He has twice received a match penalty this season and is the team's most penalised player.

Advantage - Växjö: the Lakers attack is too good and too broad for Skellefteå to handle.

3.Växjö Defense - too hot-headed to cope with sizzling Skellefteå strikeforce?

Ones to watch: Joakim Lindström, Oscar Möller, Pär Lindholm, Jimmie Ericsson (SKE)

Ones to watch: Noah Welch, Daniel Rahimi (VLA)

For me this will be the key to the game.

How will Växjö deal with the power trio of Joakim Lindström, Oscar Möller and Pär Lindholm who are now joined by seasoned veteran, the 38 year old, Jimmie Ericsson? The first three players contributed 139 points and were all in the top 9 in the regular season for Total Points.

Växjö's chief weapons at the back are US Olympian Noah Welch and Swede Daniel Rahimi. They are traditional big hitters, tough and gnarly defensemen. But that does have it's downsides. These two plus Canadian forward Brendan Shinnimin served an ill-disciplined 221 Penalty Minutes between them this season.

The problem for Växjö is that Lindström and Company also love the rough stuff and get loads of energy from standing in the blue paint irritating defensemen. Then they crush teams on the Power Play with brilliant finishing. Welch and Rahimi must stay out of the box to take home gold.

Attack maybe the best form of defence for the Lakers against Skellefteå's first line.

It is worth remembering that Daniel Rahimi was also second in the SHL in plus/ minus behind a player you've probably heard of, Elias Pettersson.

Advantage- Lakers: Sam Hallam will have drilled discipline in the team all week. Stay out of the box, win the Championship. Simple!

The quality of these games can be seen in the fact that 14 Olympians from Korea were on the ice. That includes 2 Canadian Silver medallists, 4 Finnish bronze medallists, 5 of the Swedish team and 2 of the Switzerland team. On top of that, you could also have seen the SDHL's top player in history in terms of goals and assists, one of Canada's World Championship Gold medallist team not to mention several Danish and Norwegian internationals who didn't qualify for the Olympics this time around.

No surprise that we got to see three games of the highest quality with drama, controversy and, eventually after 3 hours of hockey, one team was crowned Swedish national champions 2017/8.

Match 1 in Linköping

A thrilling opener and despite their being so much at stake, both teams attacking with abandon forcing outstanding goalkeeping from Luleå's Maria Omberg and Switzerland national keeper, Florence Schelling for Linköping. The best chances fell to the player who has the most Goals and Assists in the league's history, Austrian Denise Altmann. The Linköping striker found herself on more than one occasion alone on the breakway as Luleå pressed forward only to have her shots saved by the in-form Omberg. So it was the top line from Luleå HF who decided the match with a cleverly worked face off in the last minute of the game.

Canada's Olympic silver medallist Jennifer Wakefield won the face off, passing back to Finland's Ronja Savolainen who shot from the blue line, meanwhile Swede Emma Nordin had slid across from the face off circle to block Schelling's view and possibly take the deflection that beat the Swiss keeper. 1-0 and advantage Luleå with two home matches to finish out the series.

Match 2 in Luleå

The match was also even, but not if you look at shot statistics, where it was 45- 21 to the home team. But whilst Luleå succeeded in firing the puck in, they failing to get people in front of the net to block or take rebounds. Nor could they repeat a goal from the resulting face-offs which saw an epic battle between Linköping and Sweden's Pernilla Winberg and Wakefield.

Like Match 1, this game was also settled in the last minute, but not without two incidents of controversy that took up a lot of the post match discussions.

First was Savolinen's goal that was waved off by the referees. The Finn skated powerfully into the offensive zone skating around Canadian World Cup Gold medallist, Courtney Birchard, and avoiding the poke check to get free to shoot. But as she moved in on Schelling and her feet entered the blue paint she started to fall backwards, her skates kicking the Linköping keeper. The pair of them ended up in a heap pushed the goal loose from its moorings and the puck slid into the net just inside the right-hand post. Confusion reigned on the ice, the benches and even in the commentators' box. In or Not In? Officially the goal was waved off because the goal had moved from it's base before the puck crossed the line. But the TV replay didn't support that.

Then the Lara Staldar Affair. Already accused of diving by Luleå, the league's top goal scorer, Lara Staldar, was checked by Wakefield in an unquestionable Kneeing at 41.35. But whilst the Canadian went to sit down for two minutes, the Swiss striker lay on the ice in agony. The Olympian eventually climbed off the ice with the help of trainer and a colleague and it appeared her game, or even season, was over. But just four shifts later she was out on the ice appearing to skate unhindered.

And with less than a minute of the match, who should it be but the Swiss star who stole the puck in her own defensive zone as Luleå pushed forward. Chased by Luleå's Johanna Fällman, she sprinted through the mid-zone and towards Omberg. The Swedish Olympian managed to catch the Linköping forward deftly pushing her around and behind the goal. But Staldar remained on feet, picking up the loose puck again she continued clockwise around the goal. Then she narrowly missing a flying Wakefield who was trying to check her into next week. Suddenly, Staldar found herself alone and unmarked in front of goal. With just forty seconds to go, she backhanded the puck beautifully passed Omberg. 1-0 Linköping and 1-1 in matches, meaning a final deciding match in Luleå would be needed to separate the best two women's teams in Sweden.

Match 3 in Luleå

Schelling's heroics had kept Linköping in Match 2. But she could do little to stop the rocket fired by Finnish back Jenni Hiirikoski from the right hand side on Luleå's first power play at 2:30 in the first period of the decider. The goal gave a hitherto unseen confidence and fluidity to the home team who suddenly started to play like the dominant, champions-in-waiting they had promised to be all season long.

10:02 minutes later that had gone up to 3-0 and, of course, it was their top players who rose to the occasion, with Finn Michelle Karvinen and then Nordin scoring the goals. The team from Östergötland were completely out-played, but a glimmer of hope was lit when Sweden and Linköping's captain, Emilia Ramboldt got a goal back with a 1.28 of the first period left to play. But that glimmer was soon snuffed out, when Savolainen netted after just 2:23 of the second period.

When Karvinen scored her second with just 55 seconds to go in the second period it wasn't just that it was 5-1, but the way they scored that showed why the SDHL championship was going to Luleå HF this year. With the puck in the mid-zone the Linköping team tried to make a line change. But the puck was collected by Luleå centre, Nordin, who suddenly found that her and Karvinen were the only players on the ice between the half way line and Schelling in the Linköping goal. The Luleå duo glided towards the goal totally unmarked causally passing the puck to each other, like in a training exercise, until Karvinen ruthlessly slammed the puck in. It was the SDHL's regular season and Playoff top points scorer, Karvinen, verses the SDHL's regular season and playoff top goalkeeper, Schelling, and the game was effectively over with the third period in-played.

Luleå HF deservedly, the SDHL 2017/8 Champions by 2-1 in games.

Canadians Jennifer Wakefield (left) and Meaghan Mikkelsson (right) celebrate their Swedish Championship Gold medals with Luleå.