Hockey club Chalmers Blue McRangers defeated LTH Griparna during Saturday’s game in the University hockey league, UHL.
Photo: Lukas J. Herbers.
LTH Griparna started off the first period well, but after that it went downhill. The final result was 5-2, in favor of Chalmers Blue McRangers.
“Right now, it sucks. This was our first loss at home,” says LTH Griparna’s captain, Adam Eidenvall.
The stands were crowded, and the cheering sections were psyched up. After a slow start, the first period intensified as both teams were pushing the pace. LTH Griparna created several chances and after just 2 minutes and 16 seconds into the game, number 7, Axel Myrenfors, scored the first goal of the game.
LTH Griparna dominated the first period, they created the most chances, and they were up 2-1 when the first period came to an end. LTH Griparna’s second goal was also scored by Axel Myrenfors.
Went Downhill
The second period started off slowly as well, but it got rougher, resulting in several penalties on both sides. Nearly 7 minutes into the second period, Blue McRangers scored their second goal, causing Griparna’s rhythm to go downhill.
Shortly after, Chalmers Blue McRangers were up 3-2. After that, it seemed both teams lost their intensity, and the pace was low by the end of the second period
“We’ve got a deeper squad, we should have benefited from that to grind them down in the first and the second period. We should have done a better job skating and attacking the goal more. Instead we tried to make too many complicated passes,” says Adam Eidenvall.
Desperate Attempts
LTH started the third period in power play. But despite a couple of chances, no goals.
Then – it happened. Griparna’s Oscar Nyquist was given a 5-minute penalty, and was, in fact, ejected from the game after his head tackle on Chalmers’ player Ricky Alexandersson.
Shortly after that, another player of Griparna was given a penalty, and they were now playing three against two.
Chalmers Blue McRangers quickly seized the opportunity by scoring another goal. Despite 10 minutes left of the game, and Griparna now up to four players on the ice, they looked as if they had thrown in the towel. During the second half of the third period, fatigue was kicking in, in both teams.
LTH Griparna made a few desperate attempts to establish some play offensively. It did not take long before Chalmers scored their third goal.
“Initially, I thought it was a close game, but after our major penalty we were a bit demoralized. It was very tough. It was especially tough when we had two guys in the penalty box for a while,” says Adam Eidenvall.
Relaxed pre-party
Despite the small, loyal cheering section in the crowds, the atmosphere gradually turned into a relaxed pre-party. The speaker gave up on the game long before it was over, and started promote fireball instead.
8 minutes left in the game, Griparna took a timeout, infusing new life into the pace of the game. During the last minutes of the game, LTH made a few pedestrian attempts to two shrewd chances. But they did not score, and Chambers Blue McRangers won the game, 5-2.
After all, however, university hockey differs from pro hockey. Despite roughness on the ice, the players still did not mind partying together later that night.
“Hockey isn’t everything. After all, Chalmers has come to stay the night. Let’s put the lights out here and let people rent skates, so we can go out partying. We’ll have to briefly review the game in the locker room and quickly let it go. Tonight is all about having fun,” says Adam Eidenvall.
Three quick ones with Griparna’s leading scorer, Axel Myrenfors
How do you feel?
“It’s tough. We were up after the first period. And we should have won. It’s a shame we blew our lead due to errors,” says Griparna’s number 7, Axel Myrenfors.
What could you have done better?
“Our defensive play. Offensively, we created a lot of chances but we didn’t manage to capitalize on them. They advanced the puck up the ice very well, dragging us out of our positions.”
Did you give up toward the end?
“We never gave up, but granted, it got harder mentally toward the end,” says Axel Myrenfors.
Text: Tindra Englund
Photo: Lukas J. Herbers
Translation: Maximilian Aleman-Tennell
LTH Griparna vs Chalmers Blue McRangers. Photo: Lukas J. Herbers.
