Jonathan Johnson found his way between the shin pads of Jhonas Enroth for a third-period equalizer.
Skellefteå AIK, who have been dominating teams all season, were choked at source by an Örebro side that only allowed AIK a measly three shots in the first period. Meanwhile, at the other end Örebro always looked dangerous and scored twice.
The second period saw almost total Örebro dominance, and a team that's never been to a final, kept hammering shots at busy AIK goalie Linus Söderström who kept Skellefteå in the match. But Örebro couldn't score a third, which left AIK a little chink of hope which they finally exploited with two goals in the third period. Once again, AIK, despite being second best all game, were showing true determination and courage.
Could they snatch another game in overtime (as they did in game 5 against Rögle in the quarter-final) to tie the series 1-1?
Sadly the answer was no as Örebro scored the winner after just 2:41 of the deciding period.
It felt like a defining defeat. Örebro are in top form at just the right part of the season and look formidable.
But Skellefteå have big, big hearts and only a fool would discount them just yet. However, they need to win the next game at home on Wednesday night. It's by far the most important game of the season so far.
Örebro Hockey – Skellefteå AIK 3–2 (2–0, 0–0, 0–2, 1–0)
The goals: 1–0 (15.36) Filip Berglund (Backström, Öberg), 2-0 (18.11) Milton Oscarson (Carlsson), 2–1 (44.01) Tom Kühnhackl, 2–2 (48.49) Jonathan Johnson (Hugg, Söderström) , 3–2 (62.41) Mathias Bromé (Holm, Hardegård).
Shots: 28–26 (7–3, 11–9, 8–14, 2–0).
Penalty minutes: 0–4 (0–2, 0–2, 0–0, 0–0).
Attendance: 5,500.
Officials: Mikael Sjöqvist, Christoffer Holm.
