Frölunda have had problems at home with three losses in the last four games in Gothenburg. When Linköping was looking for an equalizer at 3-2, they were very close, instead Max Friberg stepped forward in the final minutes.
First he raked in a rebound from LHC goalkeeper Christian Heljanko for 4-2 and when the goalkeeper was unpicked, Friberg piled in himself to make it 5-2 and the fans howled with joy in a packed Scandinavium.
– They give us wonderful energy and it’s nice to be able to give them a victory after the results didn’t answer at the end. It’s extra nice when 12,044 get to go home happy, says Max Friberg to TV4 Play.
Match penalty after five minutes
Already after five minutes, Frölunda’s Wiktor Nilsson received a match penalty for a head tackle and Linköping had to play in the power play for five minutes without being able to break the deadlock.
Instead, Linköping star Robin Kovács was sent off for insulting the referee and Arttu Ruotsalainen scored 1-0 for Frölunda.
– I get it because I shout that I say it is clear offside. You might think it’s Halloween and witch hunting out here instead of Santa Claus who is out giving Christmas presents, says Kovacs.
Linköping fired coach Klas Östman just before Christmas but the team continues to lose and today was the fifth straight loss.
– There are a few rebounds from us equalizing. We have started playing from scratch and started again. We have to go to ourselves and make sure to raise ourselves and show attitude, says Linus Hultström