Johnsson excelled – Skellefteå ready for the semi-finals

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Before Thursday night’s fourth match, Linköping HC was beaten to win at home in Saab Arena so that the season would not be over after four quarter-final matches.

Then it was an inspired home team that entered the ice and went for a lead goal from a drop.

But despite creating a lot of dangerous chances, both the first and second periods remained scoreless and the game looked like going to an overtime decider for a long time.

With five minutes remaining, however, a goal would finally come – but then it was visiting Skellefteå who did it.

After being sidelined due to injury, Andreas Johnsson made a comeback on Thursday evening and with five minutes left he cut in from the left before with a crafty finish he was able to score the lead high up at the front post.

After the goal, Linköping picked out the goalkeeper early to contribute to their final effort, but the move did not bear fruit and instead Arvid Lundberg was able to lift the 2-0 goal into an empty net with barely three minutes left in the match.

The closing minutes were then mostly of academic importance and Skellefteå was able to guard and hold on to a 2–0 victory without any major problems.

The result means that Skellefteå is ready for the semi-finals, while Linköping’s season is over.