Euro Ice Hockey Leagues: (24-26/9)

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Russia Superliga

	Home	Tie	Away	BPP
Vitiaz Chehov v Sibir Novosibirsk (11:00 BST)	2.34	4.40	2.40	108%	Related markets...Match ResultMoney LinePuck Line - - -Total Goals o/u1st Period Money Line1st Period Over/UnderHandicap Result

Sweden Elitserien

Monday 24 September 2007
	Home	Tie	Away	BPP
HV-71 v Frölunda (17:30 BST)	2.02	4.60	3.10	104%	Related markets...Money LineMatch ResultPuck Line - - -Total Goals o/uCorrect ScoreFirst Team to ScoreHandicap ResultHighest Scoring PeriodLast Team to ScoreOdd or Even Total
Linköping v Timrå (18:00 BST)	2.02	4.60	3.10	104%	Related markets...Money LineMatch ResultPuck Line - - -Total Goals o/uCorrect ScoreFirst Team to ScoreHandicap ResultHighest Scoring PeriodLast Team to ScoreOdd or Even Total
Södertälje v Mora (18:00 BST)	2.00	4.50	2.96	107%

[Bamse81]

Re: Euro Ice Hockey Leagues: (24/9) First round of the Swedish Elitserien: HV-71 v Frölunda Two of the big teams in Sweden face each other here. HV71 was knocked out last year in the semi-finals by MODO who in turn went on to become the champions. It was a tough final and it could've gone either way even thought MODO showed really strong morale in the end - coming back from being down 2-3 in the aggregate. HV71 has manage to keep some of their best players on the squad and recruited some interesting players aswell. As goalie Stefan Liv is back on the team after some years in North America. His plan there was of course to play in Detroit but he never really got the chance and so he spent most of the time in the lower leagues. It's really impossible to say if this made him any better but he will probably be one of the better goalies in Elitserien anyway. If he doesn't succeed they have a good replacement in Erik Ersberg. Among the defenders we see some really tough guys like Lance Ward and they have some of the best defense in Elitserien this year too. Among the forward there are really interesting names like Björn Melin, Jonas Johansson and Per Ledin but IMO they seem to lack a really great sniper. The risk is also that this team might spend a little too much time in the penalty booth. Frölunda had a disastrous last season but after the kicked their coach and hired Per Bäckman things starting working again even though it was far too late to make it to the play-offs. This year they have got to be really motivated to get a better result. Goalie Tommy Salo has retired and the responsibility is now in Joel Gistedts hands. He's young but no one would be surprised if he got a big break-through this season. 2nd goalie is Ari Ahonen with 5 seasons in the AHL. Among the defenders I have to mention Andreas Holmqvist who played in Linköping last season and will be a great asset in Frölunda. Among the forwards the most important new player is Michael Holmqvist but they also have Justin Morrison from MODO who is strong in front of the goalie. Frölunda also have huge routine in guys like Kallio, Andersson and Plüss. Steve Kariya will also be one to watch. The match today is really impossible to call. I rate both teams as top 4 but with the small home advantage that HV71 has they are rightly favourites in this game. Linköping v Timrå Linköping lost the final against MODO last season. They were terrible for big parts of the season and were far down in the table when just weeks remained until play-offs - then they started winning just about every game. Just shows what potential this team has. Goalie Stana is a decent goalie no doubt but not one of the very best IMO. Their defense might be and Achilles heel this season since they have lost so many players to the NHL, Magnus Johansson is a huge loss. If the defense might be a problem the attack is not. They have class acts such as Tony Mårtensson, Joakim Eriksson and Mattias Weinhandl. weinhandl will be interesting to watch since he has spent some years in the NHL and AHL and no one really knows how good he is and if he will dominate like he did during the lock-out. What we do know is that he was really expensive for LHC. Timrå have an interesting team just like last year and just like last year they seem to like recruiting loads of Finns - they have two more now and that gives them a total of seven. The most interesting is btw Mika Pyörylä who was very successful in Kärpät. The goalie Backlund is one of my favorite goalies and they also have Magnus Åkerlund so the goalies are no issue for Timrå. In the defense they've lost Anton Strålman which is a big loss but they still have Sanny Lindström, Marttinen and Robin Jonsson. The forwards are interesting just as last year. Before they were all injured they were simply awesome and Timrå simply dominated Elitserien up until the injuries started coming. I've already mentioned Pyörylä but the also have Hahl, Pärssinen, Hedström and Tenkrat. Sounds good, right? This game is really hard to call aswell. Linköping are traditionally good at home but Timrå are also good away from home and have a great team. The possible bet here is however Under 5.5 goals. I think the first games will be a little nervous and I don't think they will take big risks in their play. Also this game "feels" like an under-game which is something I really can't explain. Södertälje v Mora Two teams I don't know that well. Last season they played in Allsvenskan and had to qualify to get back to Elitserien. The goalie is young Enroth (19 years old) who might get a big break-through this year. Second goalie is Bjurling who has played abroad in Europe for some years. Last he played in Vålerenga but the standard in Elitserien is so much higher. In the defense I think they will have some trouble, Kudroc is probably a good recruit but like Lance Ward he will probably spent half of the time on penalty. No stars among the forwards either. Martin Cibak had a decent season in Frölunda and will probably be a good boost to Södertälje but it's not enough. Mora continue to surprise everyone, last year they made it to play-offs where they were quickly knocked out by Färjestad. They have lost sniper Pavel Brendl to Brynäs and it's going to be interesting to see how they cope with that. They have a good goalie in Pitkämäki but the 2nd goalie is a young talent who has to learn alot before he can be first goalie. Defense is OK but not that good, however I wouldnt be that surprised if they did well since the players in Mora are great at working together as a team. Like I said they've lost forward Brendl but have recruited Yared Hagos instead, he has also been playing AHL and it's hard to say if he can be a good replacement for Brendl. This game is very hard to call. I do think that Moras team looks a bit more interesting since they have a better goalie and also Hagos in front. In their best days Mora can beat any team which is something we witnessed last season. I will write a preview on Tuesdays games on Monday evening.