A swirling burst of speed from debutant Andreas Johnson, a goalie out of position and a first shot straight into the net. That is exactly what Skellefteå AIK gave their home crowd just thirty-nine seconds into the match against visiting Oskarshamn.
No more was needed. When Rickard Hugg was given a few meters of space and plenty of ice, the lead was in the bag within a minute.
Oskarshamn continued to have big problems. Although Oskar Nilsson, Filip Sandberg and Max Lindholm couldn't convert their chances, the lead was finally extended. Rickard Hugg maneuvered his way across the offensive blue line and when he lost his balance, Anton Heikkinen took over and scored the second goal of the night.
Then Pär Lindholm scored a Messi-esque goal, taking on the entire visiting team single-handedly, weaving through the offensive zone, out into the neutral zone and back into the danger zone, before slaloming between defenders and scoring his first goal of the season. What a way to open your account.
The goals kept coming. After conceding five, Oskarshamn decided to take a timeout.
It didn't work, and AIK thundered on, finally finishing up 7-0 winners.
The big question? Is this the kind of performance that could kickstart AIK's stuttering season?
Match facts
Skellefteå AIK – IK Oskarshamn 7–0 (3–0, 3–0, 1–0)
Goals: 1–0 (00.39) Rickard Hugg (Lindberg, Lundberg), 2–0 (08.08) Anton Heikkinen (Hugg, Salomonsson), 3–0 (15.55) Pär Lindholm (Robertsson), 4–0 (24.56) Linus Lindström (Pudas, Sandberg), 5–0 (26.38) Oscar Lindberg (Pudas, M. Forsfjäll), 6–0 (34.55) Filip Sandberg (Sandin Pellikka, Pudas), powerplay, 7–0 (48.03) Filip Sandberg (Lindström, M. Lindholm).
Shots: 28–19 (12–4, 9–7, 7–8).
Penalty minutes: 8–6 (4–4, 2–2, 2–0).
Attendance: 4,089
Referees: Christoffer Holm, Johan Magnusson.
