{"id":107,"date":"2025-04-11T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/?p=107"},"modified":"2025-04-11T08:05:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T06:05:00","slug":"dick-axelsson-ready-for-game-seven-im-going-to-be-a-nasty-bastard-out-there-on-the-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/?p=107","title":{"rendered":"Dick Axelsson ready for game seven: \u201cI\u2019m going to be a nasty bastard out there on the ice.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“We played a very solid game, and most importantly, we scored goals. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve been missing in the last two games, but today the damn puck just had to go in,” says Djurg\u00e5rden forward Dick Axelsson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There were a lot of strange goals this time, but as they say\u2014good things happen when you get the puck on net.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axelsson is still sweaty after the intense game, but it\u2019s clear how excited he is about the upcoming seventh semifinal. He didn\u2019t register a goal himself in the sixth game, but as so often, he was still at the center of Thursday night\u2019s heated match. He\u2019s especially good at stirring things up on the ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“My job description says I\u2019m supposed to be a nasty bastard out there on the ice and just go for it,” says Dick Axelsson with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But I\u2019d say I\u2019ve mellowed with age,” continues the 38-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atmosphere at Scaniarinken in S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje was electric ahead of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity to secure a spot in the finals of the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs\u2014and to do so by knocking out pre-tournament favorite Djurg\u00e5rden\u2014generated a lot of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the home team S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje SK, this was a game full of opportunity. A win would have secured their place in the finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they lost, they\u2019d get another chance on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Djurg\u00e5rden, the situation was different. It was a do-or-die game\u2014they had to win. A loss would have ended their dreams of playing in the SHL next season and turned the entire season into a failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the pressure was heavy on the Djurg\u00e5rden players\u2014but they handled it perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to a wild second period, where Djurg\u00e5rden scored five goals and S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje fell apart, they saved the match point and tied the series at 3\u20133.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a seventh and decisive match awaits at Hovet on Saturday night. All we know is that this is a series full of twists and turns\u2014anything can happen in that game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Game seven is going to be really fun. A lot of players will have the chance to become heroes,” says Dick Axelsson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How eager are you to be the hero yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ll let the younger guys take care of that,” says Axelsson with another smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s asked about his own experience with a seventh and deciding match and pauses for a moment before answering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019m not even sure I\u2019ve played in one. If I have, it\u2019s not something I remember with my \u2018old-man memory\u2019.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The home team S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje actually got a perfect start to Thursday night\u2019s match. Just over two minutes in, Hampus Harlestam made it 1\u20130 after Djurg\u00e5rden goalie Hugo H\u00e4velid failed to control a rebound, leaving it right in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the visitors got a chance to get back into the game when S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje\u2019s Evan Weinger received a match penalty in the ninth minute for a hit to the head. A move that turned out to be a mistake in many ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That unnecessary hit became Djurg\u00e5rden\u2019s way into the match, as they were given a five-minute power play. However, their power play was ineffective, and for a long time it looked like they wouldn\u2019t score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with 14 seconds left, the equalizing goal came\u2014with a bit of luck\u2014as 18-year-old Victor Eklund\u2019s puck deflected off a S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje skate and into the net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in the second period, though, that everything happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After failing to get past S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje\u2019s talented goalie Frans Tuohimaa in the previous two games, Djurg\u00e5rden started the period by scoring three goals in less than three minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first goal came just 15 seconds in, scored by Albin Grewe. Tyler Kelleher followed up with the 3\u20131 goal, and 17-year-old Anton Frondell made it 4\u20131. At that point, only two minutes and 40 seconds of the second period had passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shock start that briefly silenced the home crowd. It was as if they needed a moment to grasp what had just happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, though, the arena roared again, and when Albin Carlsson cut the deficit to 4\u20132 midway through the period, a glimmer of hope emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That hope was quickly extinguished when Fredric Weigel made it 5\u20132, and Edvin Hammarlund soon after added 6\u20132.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that period, the game felt decided, even though the crowd got to see a few more goals in the third period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Weigel\u2019s 5\u20132 goal, Frans Tuohimaa left the net and was replaced by Oliver H\u00e5kansson. A reminder of how quickly things can change in hockey, and how thin the line is between hero and scapegoat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuohimaa, who had been the hero in both the fourth and fifth semifinals, was visibly shaky on this night and arguably should have stopped at least two of the five goals he let in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He\u2019s definitely been good, but today we added some extra damn grit,” says Dick Axelsson about Tuohimaa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Also, credit to S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje as a team. They\u2019ve blocked a lot of shots, and we haven\u2019t always been accurate enough or managed to get through them,” he adds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Djurg\u00e5rden\u2019s forward Dick Axelsson reflects on a crucial victory to tie their semifinal series against S\u00f6dert\u00e4lje at 3-3. After a challenging start, Djurg\u00e5rden surged with five goals in the second period, showcasing determination under pressure. The decisive seventh match awaits, promising excitement and potential heroics from the players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swedishpost.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}