Explorations from Björklöven – BIK: “Hill would do well on SHL”

Mistakes were punished – really
In Björklöven’s 2-0, BIK Karlskoga lost the puck behind his own goal, really for no reason, and with 3-0 he got rid of it in the middle zone. Of course, it’s never good to make mistakes that result in backward goals, but the way BIK conceded goals in the first period is downright untenable if you even want to be close to points against Björklöven. It’s also not sustainable to finish a three-on-zero position by playing the puck to the edge of the box without shooting, as BIK did midway through the second period.

What class ends
Tyler Vesel gave Umeålaget the lead just over a minute when he ended a good attack by fooling Tim Juel and stomping the puck at the first post, a delightful achievement. Olle Liss finished off a cross shot, Pontus Andreasson was fresh when he found Oskar Steen and Axel Bergkvist reduced with a real cross shot himself. Certainly no bad goals were offered in the first period at Stadium A3.

It’s 3-0 @Bjorkloven And it’s Olle Liss who loads the gun! What pressure has in the shot! 💥 #twittpuck#hockeypic.twitter.com/yKiVqJDwEx

– C More Sport (@cmoresport) November 25, 2020

This is how you give answers to the numbers

Zero points against Södertälje, loss of points against Tingsryd and zero points against the last Väsby last time. Björklöven’s form has been cut at the end, largely from the team’s poor play on the power play, while also drawing too many ejections. They then came out and put on a real show of force against BIK on Tuesday. They got some help on the stack from a couple of BIK bugs, but Löven showed why they are considered one of the two favorites to take SHL’s spot this spring. High tempo of the disc, good game and good speed in general. It was a Björklöven that you got used to seeing last year.

The hill has gotten even better
Last season, Brian Cooper was probably the best defender in the entire series, while he had two teammates in Zach Palmquist and Adam Plant who should have been at the top of the rankings after the season. And this season, the first one has risen more levels. Now that Plant is also missing, and it looks like he’s doing it for a while, Palmquist has been given an even bigger role and he does it with enthusiasm. A very skilled two-way defender who can handle both games on and off the puck, both defensively and offensively without getting into trouble, thanks a lot to his skating. A defender who would do well in SHL. He capped off tonight’s effort with a different direct shot for 7-1 after he saw an open space at the far post and snuck in.

BIK Karlskoga?
Without captain “Daggen” and without Gustaf Thorell. Conditions weren’t optimal before BIK’s crash with two key players away, and it didn’t improve that David Lindquist disappeared early in the first period. And they didn’t make it any easier for them by offering a couple of goals in the first half against Björklöven. And the question is where we have BIK Karlskoga this winter. He closed against Väsby the last time and only two triples in the last nine games. Form is anything but for Karlskoga right now.