PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Leksand fell against Rögle by a whopping 7-3.
But after the match, it is above all a goal that arouses strong reactions.
– I think it looks terribly dangerous, says coach Björn Hellkvist about Leksand’s own goal.
Leksand came to the start with five straight victories and plenty of confidence ahead of Tuesday night’s SHL match against Rögle. But in Ängelholm, the Dalmatians didn’t have much to say when Rögle pulled away and won fairly easily with a whopping 7-3.
Leksand-anger
After the match, it was mostly about the goal that Leksand scored to make it 1-1. Patrik Norén pulled away with a shot when the Rögle goalkeeper Christopher Rifalk was on the ice and had lost his helmet after a collision with his teammate Michael Kapla.
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The puck flew at high speed just a few centimeters from the goalkeeper’s unprotected head. The goal has now caused strong reactions around hockey Sweden and after the match the Leksand coach was Björn Hellkvist furious about the team’s own goals.
– I think it looks terribly dangerous when someone shoots a shot at a goalkeeper who is defenseless without a helmet. Then the rule is what it is, but… I don’t make the rules, says Hellkvist at the press conference according to Hockeypuls.
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And Rögle anger
The playground coach would like to see a change in the regulations to prevent something as dangerous as this from happening again.
– Assume that the puck hits Rifalk in the temple. Then it’s not great fun. You might need to look into it.
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Hellkvist also gets the support of the opposing coach Cam Abbott who was thoroughly upset after the goal and did not hold back his emotions in the subsequent press conference.
– I am disappointed because I believe that there are principles in the sport of ice hockey that override certain rules, for example dangerous situations when the players can get hurt, says the Rögle coach, clearly dissatisfied with the referees’ actions in connection with the situation.
– We blow off matches when players’ helmet buckles are unbuttoned. But here we have a player lying defenseless without a helmet when a shot is fired at goal.
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Abbott is also in favor of seeing a change in the regulations to better protect goalkeepers.
– The safety of the players is of the utmost importance in this league and we have adjusted a lot of rules in recent years to get there. But there must also be room for common sense, says the coach at the press conference.
– Then I understand that people make bad decisions in the heat of battle, but hopefully we can get a process going with the governing bodies in this league so that the referees can make a better decision next time. In my opinion, they have to blow the game in a situation like this.
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