AIK's overtime victory on away ice last saw to it that the Hockey Allsvenskan quarterfinal returned to Hovet in Stockholm.
It started just like usual when Björklöven scored the first goal of the match for the sixth meeting in a row, when Jesper Lindgren broke the deadlock after barely ten minutes.
But AIK recovered from both 0-1 and 1-2 and could also take the lead for the first time when Lukas Zetterberg scored 3-2 at the end of a strong second period by the home team.
It was also the winning goal.
In the final period, Björklöven vainly chased an equalizer – including a four-minute long powerplay – but AIK and goalkeeper Victor Brattström held tight.
It was perhaps not a pretty victory, but it was a bloody warrior match and we wanted it very much, says AIK coach Roger Melin to TV4 Play.
3-3 in matches means that the even match series goes to a seventh and decisive match.
Björklöven coach Daniel Rahimi stated that the match series has been "extremely even", but also stuck out his chin after having played a decisive seventh match three times in his career.
I have never lost a "game seven", he says.
When Roger Melin shortly thereafter got asked about his record in "game seven", the smiling response was:
Damn, no idea. I don't know.
Djurgården, Karlskoga, and Södertälje are already clear for the semifinal.
