Skellefteå won Game 6 of its semifinal against Luleå to reach the championship series of the Elitserien.
Skellefteå finally found a way to beat Luleå in regulation time in the semifinals of the Elitserien playoffs. After five straight overtime games, SAIK scored its winning goal in the third period to beat Luleå 4-3 in Game 6 and move onto the finals where it will face Färjestad.
Tim Erixon scored at 10:41 of the third period to put Skellefteå in the lead and goaltender Andreas Hadelöv made the lead last as he stopped 13 shots in the period. Erixon’s goal made up Skellefteå blowing a pair of leads in the game.
Christian Söderström and David Rundblad staked Skellefteå to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Joonas Vihko pulled a goal back for Luleå. Jimmie Ericsson put SAIK up 3-1 when he scored at 4:37 of the second period. Vihko tallied just a minute later to get Luleå within one goal once again. Janne Niinimaa tied the game at 8:13 of the second period.
The game remained deadlocked until Erixon scored in the third period.
Skellefteå now faces Färjestad, which barely broke a sweat in its first two series. SAIK beat the Wolfpack in all three regular-season meetings this year and its top line of Erik Forsell, Söderström and Ericsson combined for 17 points in those games.
The finals open April 5 at the Löfbergs Lila Arena in Karlstad.
by Chipp Reid
