The crowd in the Skellefteå Kraft Arena had barely sat down after the standing ovation for Pea Israelsson, when AIK's Dylan Sikura sent a pass through the center line and Andreas Johnson tapped it in for the 1-0 lead.
The dream start continued. First Frans Haara stepped forward and scored his first goal in senior hockey - a goal that caused HV71 to call a timeout. But it was of little help, because four minutes later Linus Lindström made it 3-0 when he put the puck into the empty net.
At that point HV71's Joni Ortio was swapped out of goal for Frederik Dichow. The game settled down thereafter, until midway through the game misfortune struck when Anton Olsson was hit in the head and fell to the ice. Olsson was able to leave the ice on his own, but went straight to the dressing room.
The match remained under AIK's control until late in the second period when the visitors clawed a goal back, but they could inflict no more damage. Time ran out and AIK were able to celebrate their third consecutive SHL victory.
MATCH FACTS
Skellefteå AIK – HV71 3–1 (3–0, 0–1, 0–0)
Goals: 1–0 (01.22) Andreas Johnson (Sikura, P. Lindholm), 2–0 (03.15) Frans Haara (P. Lindholm, Sikura), 3–0 (04.11) Linus Lindström (Pudas), 3–1 (38.02) Oliwer Kaski (Fisker Molgaard, Borgström).
Shots: 36–17 (11–7, 11–4, 14–6).
Referees: Tobias Björk, Daniel Eriksson.