Örebro Hockey suffered a heavy loss to Luleå during their Norrland tour on Thursday evening. Despite a strong start with a significant game advantage in the first period, they couldn't keep up. The team is now just four points from the relegation playoff.
Örebro Hockey began their Norrland tour with a match against Luleå on Thursday evening, with puck drop at 7:00 PM. Despite a significant game advantage in the first period, the visitors saw no payoff. Luleå won the game, marking a heavy loss for Örebro.
Coach Niklas Eriksson recognizes the seriousness of the situation. With only four points to the relegation playoff, the team is close to the bottom of the standings. "I expect HV to be damn good. Anything else would be sensational," Eriksson says about upcoming challengers.
Drama unfolded on the ice as well. Örebro's Gustav Backström was ejected in a situation no one understood. Backström suspects Luleå's Markus Nurmi deliberately dropped his stick to provoke a penalty. The referee later apologized for the mistake. "It's something we talk a lot about in Swedish hockey and I think it's damn unfair," Backström says after the loss.
Örebro played well for long stretches but wasn't effective enough to win. They are now drawn back into the relegation battle. The SHL schedule has been exceptionally erratic this year, with Örebro starting with four away games out of the first five due to a concrete slab replacement in their arena.
