Frölunda Gothenburg found themselves in an unfamiliar situation in last night’s Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals Return Game. The four-time Champions were ousted by Rögle Ängelholm, losing the Return Game 1-3 and dropping out 4-8 on aggregate score.
This was the first time Frölunda were ever eliminated from a CHL Semi-Final and the first time they will miss out on the Final in three seasons.
We caught up with Frölunda forward Nicklas Lasu after the game.
We are disappointed with the resultNicklas Lasu
“Of course we are disappointed with the result, “started Lasu, “we really believed in ourselves before the game.”
Frölunda had a two-goal deficit to overcome from last week’s First Game, a score the six-time participants have managed to turn around many teams over the years, but their hopes took a big hit just seconds into the game when Rögle forward Anton Bengtsson scored to put his side another goal ahead on aggregate score.
“We lost easy battles and they scored goals from them,” said 32-year-old Frölunda veteran Lasu, “especially during the first shift. It was a tough game.”
The second period saw Frölunda really up their play. They pushed and played high up the ice, were on the attack whenever they could and were doing all they could to squeeze Rögle and bite away at the three-goal deficit, but in an unexpected turn of events, it was Rögle who scored, this time on the powerplay.
Rögle added their third, any empty-netter, in the final period, before Frölunda finally found the back of the net four minutes before regulation.
We weren’t good enough in the First GameNicklas Lasu
The five-time finalists ended the game recording more than double the number of shots, more than 50% more shots on goal than Rögle and having a projected Expected Win of 71%.
What went wrong?
“We were weak in battles, weak on the puck. We weren’t good enough on the attack and weren’t solid enough in defence,” said three-time CHL Champion Lasu, “that lost us the game.”
Ending with: “We didn’t perform like we wanted over the two games.”