Disappointment in Malmo

[tcookie 897]

The Malmo Nighthawks couldn't have scripted the regular season any better, as they mostly dominated wire-to-wire with barely a lull in play all season long. In the process, they set a franchise record in points and captured the Victory Cup with a record of 52-14-6.

 

In stark contrast, they couldn't have scripted the post-season any worse. Sure, they played the 4th-seeded London United close in pretty much every game, with two OT losses and a third game decided by one goal plus an empty netter, but this was a team that won 52 regular season games. Their playoff run lasted exactly four, swept aside by London, with their league-best offense mustering just 9 goals in the series. To give full credit where it's due, London netminder Jesse Teno has been on absurd tear so far this post-season, sporting a 7-1 record and .946 SV%. That mark was .939 for the series against Malmo, as the Nighthawks peppered the London net with 146 shots. They simply couldn't solve Teno.

 

They also couldn't stop Leonard Triller, who has back-to-back 4-game series with 9 points each for the United. Triller is running away with the playoff scoring race so far, and Malmo, despite playing stingy defense all year, also had no answer for him or his line. It was simply a tale of two seasons for the Nighthawks, who couldn't get anything going after such a dominant regular season.

 

"Yeah, it hurts for sure," says Malmo rookie Phillip Rave. "Obviously we didn't expect to be out in four games. This team is better than that... I don't know what happened out there these four games, we just didn't bring our best and they made the plays when they needed to. It stings. It's not what you play for, it obviously takes something out of all that regular season success we had. You know what, we're a pretty young team overall and it's a learning experience for us and we'll be back. But it sucks right now, yeah. It's not fun."