Brynäs shook Luleå – for 30 minutes.
Then the Finnish Noora Tulus stepped forward and was behind the turn.
– We made a damn good effort, says the Finn to SVT.
Brynäs’s Anna Meixner shocked the big favorite Luleå when she pushed in 1-0 behind Sara Grahn, who earlier on Friday was taken out of Sweden’s World Cup squad after being poked.
And it looked good for a long time, but it wouldn’t last all the way.
Luleå’s Noora Tulus equalized on the power play in the middle of the second. And with seven minutes left in the match, when the norrbottnings completed the turnaround, Tulus closed the final with their 3–1 goal.
After that, Brynäs lost everything, and the match ended 6–1. Now Luleå, which has won the last four SM golds, has an advantage in the gold hunt.
– It was a tough match. But we made a damn good effort. We stuck to our gameplan and were patient. And in the end the goals came. But it’s just to continue the next match, because we haven’t won anything yet, says Tulus to SVT.
The final series is decided in the best of five games, and the second is played on Sunday in Luleå with drop-off at 14.05.
