It wasn’t the greatest start to the Champions Hockey League season for the Frölunda Indians, with two losses at home, but since then the reigning champions have been on the rise.
With a huge 9-2 win over the Cardiff Devils on Game Day 5, Frölunda moved into top spot of Group H, as they move closer to moving onto the knockout rounds.
One player in particular had a superb game, with captain Joel Lundqvist registering a hat trick, with all three goals coming on the powerplay with Ryan Lasch assisting on all of them.
“Me and Ryan always know where we have each other,” Lundqvist said following the victory. “In the SHL the teams are playing with a tighter box so it is not that easy to get those chances. But today we succeeded.”
Lundqvist has had a great career for Frölunda since he re-joined the team in 2009 following a three year stint in North America, helping the team to three CHL titles, and two SHL titles.
With his goals last night, it took him to 209 all-time goals for the team, which leapfrogged him above Magnus Kahnberg in Frölunda's storied history books.
“Yeah I heard that. I don’t see myself as a player scoring so it’s always nice."Joel Lundqvist on scoring 209 goals for the Frölunda Indians
"I’ve had trouble scoring in the SHL, haven’t even got any pucks to the net so finally I could get some goals.”
Now with some time to prepare for their trip to Wales next week to try and secure their place in the next round, Lundqvist and his teammates are fully focussed on the task at hand.
“We just need to continue as we have done. All these games are tough so it won’t be the same next week. But on the other hand we’re re better now than in August. But we are still humble.”