2011–12 Elitserien season

The 2011–12 Elitserien season was the 37th season of Elitserien. The regular season began on 13 September 2011 and ended on 6 March 2012. The following playoffs began on 10 March 2012 and ended on 19 April. Färjestad BK were the defending Swedish Champions. Brynäs IF won their first Swedish Championship title since 1999, as well as their 13th in history, after defeating Skellefteå AIK in six games.

2011–12 Elitserien season
League	Elitserien
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	13 September 2011 – 19 April 2012
Total attendance	2,109,819[1] (reg. season)
Average attendance	6,393[1] (reg. season)
Regular season
League Champion	Luleå HF
Season MVP	Jakob Silfverberg (Brynäs IF)
Top scorer	Robert Rosén (AIK)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Jakob Silfverberg (Brynäs IF)
Finals
Champions	Brynäs IF
Runners-up	Skellefteå AIK

The regular season was won by Luleå HF, for the first time since 1996, while Djurgårdens IF and Timrå IK were forced to play in the 2012 Kvalserien for survival in the highest division.

In Kvalserien, Timrå IK requalified and Rögle BK qualified for the 2012–13 Elitserien season at the expense of Djurgårdens IF.

To allow for local music events as well as other ice hockey ones, this season had three mid-season breaks: the first between 8–14 November 2011, the second between 12–20 December, and the third between 5–14 February 2012. To increase interest for Elitserien, the 2011–12 season's schedule was more active: from 14–29 November 2011 and 16–31 January 2012, there were Elitserien games every day (except for two days, 20 November and 22 January). Also, in the playoffs, there were quarterfinals every day (the four quarterfinal series were split into two quarterfinals per day).[2][3][4]

A significant change in this Elitserien season was that the clubs wouldn't be fined for supporter incidents as long as the clubs correctly followed the security rules.[5]

On 17 October 2011, the Swedish Police Authority decided that the police should be economically compensated for their efforts during sports events held by joint-stock companies (JSC). This mainly affected the league's two Stockholm clubs Djurgårdens IF and AIK. As a result, AIK were forced to sell forward Linus Videll to Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on 24 October 2011.[6]

Participating teams

AIK

Brynäs

Djurgården

Frölunda

Färjestad

HV71

Linköping

Luleå

Modo

Skellefteå

Timrå

Växjö

Location of the participating clubs

Team	City	Arena	Capacity
AIK	Stockholm	Hovet^1	8,094
Brynäs IF	Gävle	Läkerol Arena	8,585
Djurgårdens IF	Stockholm	Hovet^1	8,094
Frölunda HC	Gothenburg	Scandinavium	12,044
Färjestad BK	Karlstad	Löfbergs Lila Arena	8,647
HV71	Jönköping	Kinnarps Arena	7,000
Linköpings HC	Linköping	Cloetta Center	8,500
Luleå HF	Luleå	Coop Norrbotten Arena	6,300
Modo Hockey	Örnsköldsvik	Fjällräven Center	7,600
Skellefteå AIK	Skellefteå	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	6,001
Timrå IK	Timrå	E.ON Arena	6,000
Växjö Lakers	Växjö	Vida Arena	5,329

^ The local derby games between AIK and Djurgårdens IF were played in the Ericsson Globe, which has a capacity of 13,850 spectators.

Notable games

Head coaches of all twelve Elitserien teams, photographed in September 2011.

The first game of the season was played on 13 September 2011 between Frölunda HC and the Elitserien newcomers Växjö Lakers. The game counted as round 6 and was won by Frölunda 2–0 in front of an outsold Scandinavium, with Frölunda defenceman Christian Bäckman scoring the first goal of the season.[7]

The first Småland derby game in Elitserien history was played on 8 October 2011 between reigning regular-season champions HV71 and Växjö Lakers, at Kinnarps Arena in Jönköping.[8] In front of a sold out Kinnarps Arena—exactly 7,000 spectators—Växjö Lakers came out with a 3–2 victory in a shootout. Växjö Lakers forward Mike Iggulden scored three penalty shot goals in the game, two of them counted in the statistics.[9]

On 22 September 2011, Linköpings HC forward Mikael Håkanson played his 912th Elitserien game—regulation and playoff games included—and thus wrote history as he surpassed previous record holder Roger Åkerström. However, Skellefteå AIK wiped out Linköping in that game with a 4–0 shutout win.[10]

On 23 November 2011, Linköpings HC forward Andreas Jämtin became the most penalized player in Elitserien history. He received a penalty of five minutes for elbowing and a match penalty after a hit on Luleå HF's Daniel Mannberg to reach a total of 1088 penalty minutes, surpassing Thomas Berglund's 1083.[11][12]

Like the previous season, an outdoor game was played. It was played between HV71 and Linköpings HC (known as the E4 rivalry) on 10 December 2011, in a temporary arena at Elmia. The outdoor game was played as part of HV71 celebrating its 40th anniversary as a club. For the first time since the start of the yearly tradition of Elitserien outdoor games in 2009, the road team—this year Linköping—came out on top with a 1–0 overtime win in a tight game. 18,884 spectators attended the game, setting a new record for the most spectators at a single sports event in Jönköping; the previous record was 18,582 spectators, set at Stadsparksvallen in 1950.[13][14][15][16]

3D broadcasting

Certain chosen games were broadcast in 3D, marking the first time in history that Elitserien was broadcast in 3D.[17] The local derby game on 20 September 2011, between Stockholm rivals Djurgårdens IF and AIK at the Ericsson Globe, was the first game to have a 3D broadcast.[18] In front of a soldout Ericsson Globe, the game ended 4–2 in Djurgården's favour.[19]

Pre-game honours

As a result of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, where Swedish former HV71 goaltender Stefan Liv and the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team were killed, the premier round games between 13–15 September 2011 began with a one-minute silence.[20] In honour of Stefan Liv, his No. 1 jersey was retired and raised to the rafters by HV71 in Kinnarps Arena prior to HV71's home game against Timrå IK on 10 January 2012.[21]

Djurgårdens IF legend Sven Tumba died on 1 October 2011. As a result, Tumba was honoured in all Elitserien arenas that day. The biggest honours were held in Djurgården's home game against Växjö Lakers at Hovet, which was won by Djurgården 2–1.[22][23]

On 24 January 2012, former five-time Djurgården Swedish champion Charles Berglund's No. 2 jersey was retired and raised to the rafters in Hovet prior to a game against Färjestad. Djurgården won 2–1 after a shootout.[24][25][26]

Regular season

Standings

2011–12 Elitserien season	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Luleå HF^y	55	25	13	8	9	128	104	+24	100
Skellefteå AIK^x	55	26	17	5	7	148	125	+23	95
HV71^x	55	22	16	9	8	151	130	+21	92
Brynäs IF^x	55	25	19	6	5	148	140	+8	92
Frölunda HC^x	55	22	17	8	8	140	113	+27	90
Färjestad BK^x	55	23	18	4	10	124	124	0	87
AIK^x	55	19	19	8	9	146	132	+14	82
Modo Hockey^x	55	19	22	8	6	146	147	–1	79
Växjö Lakers HC^e	55	18	22	8	7	124	133	–9	77
Linköpings HC^e	55	17	24	7	7	120	138	–18	72
Djurgårdens IF^r	55	15	23	10	7	123	144	–21	72
Timrå IK^r	55	10	31	8	6	115	183	–68	52

x – clinched playoff spot; y – clinched regular season league title; e – eliminated from playoff contention; r – play in relegation series

Scoring leaders

Updated as of the end of the regular season.[27]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Robert Rosén	AIK	55	21	39	60	+22	20
Jakob Silfverberg	Brynäs IF	49	24	30	54	–2	10
Nicklas Danielsson	Modo Hockey	53	21	31	52	+26	77
Per-Åge Skrøder	Modo Hockey	53	22	29	51	+21	52
Bud Holloway	Skellefteå AIK	55	21	28	49	+11	32
Richard Gynge	AIK	55	28	16	44	+12	18
Rob Schremp	Modo Hockey	55	19	22	41	+1	48
Mathis Olimb	Frölunda HC	55	10	31	41	+23	34
Niklas Olausson	Luleå HF	53	8	33	41	+10	20
Mika Pyörälä	Frölunda HC	53	22	18	40	+24	12

Leading goaltenders

These are the leaders in GAA among goaltenders who have played at least 40% of the team's minutes. Updated as of the end of the regular season.[28]

GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	Team	GP	TOI	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Frederik Andersen	Frölunda HC	39	2335:11	65	7	.941	1.67
Johan Gustafsson	Luleå HF	29	1753:35	51	6	.930	1.74
Joacim Eriksson	Skellefteå AIK	33	2016:14	61	3	.932	1.82
David Rautio	Luleå HF	27	1602:44	49	4	.925	1.83
Cristopher Nihlstorp	Färjestad BK	45	2590:08	88	5	.923	2.04
Viktor Fasth	AIK	46	2682:50	95	5	.931	2.12
Martin Gerber	Växjö Lakers HC	42	2417:16	88	4	.928	2.18
Fredrik Norrena	Linköpings HC	47	2698:54	104	4	.918	2.31
Gustaf Wesslau	Djurgårdens IF	54	3216:41	126	2	.917	2.35
Johan Holmqvist	Brynäs IF	28	1598:48	63	1	.917	2.36
Daniel Larsson	HV71	36	2107:55	83	1	.915	2.36

Attendance

#	Club	Home		Away		Total
		Total	Average	Total	Average	Total	Average
1	Frölunda HC	293,499	10,482	157,508	5,833	451,007	8,200
2	Djurgårdens IF	208,535	7,723	185,907	6,639	394,442	7,171
3	HV 71	202,498	7,232	169,535	6,279	372,033	6,764
4	Linköpings HC	186,403	6,903	169,578	6,413	365,981	6,654
5	Färjestads BK	184,516	6,589	177,624	6,578	362,140	6,584
6	Brynäs IF	169,167	6,265	185,736	6,633	354,903	6,452
7	MODO Hockey	171,340	6,119	178,091	6,595	349,431	6,353
8	AIK	152,600	5,450	181,699	6,733	334,399	6,079
9	Luleå HF	144,339	5,154	169,428	6,275	313,767	5,704
10	Växjö Lakers HC	137,685	5,099	178,385	6,370	316,070	5,746
11	Skellefteå AIK	137,114	5,078	176,052	6,287	313,166	5,693
12	Timrå IK	122,123	4,523	170,176	6,077	292,299	5,314

[1]

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

In the first round, the top-seeded team chose which of the four lowest remaining seeds to be matched against; the 2nd-seed chose any of the three remaining seeds; the 3rd-seed chose any of the two remaining seeds; and the 4th-seed was automatically matched against the remaining seed. In the second round, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, while two remaining seeds matched up against each other. In each round the higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. Each best-of-seven series followed an alternating home team format: the higher-seeded team played at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was at home for games 2 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Luleå HF	1
	7	AIK	4
						2	Skellefteå AIK	4
						7	AIK	3
	2	Skellefteå AIK	4
	8	Modo Hockey	2
		(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round)									2	Skellefteå AIK	2
											4	Brynäs IF	4
	3	HV71	2
	6	Färjestad BK	4
						4	Brynäs IF	4
						6	Färjestad BK	1
	4	Brynäs IF	4
	5	Frölunda HC	2

(1) Luleå HF vs. (7) AIK

Luleå entered the playoffs as the regular-season champions for the first time since 1996, with 100 points. AIK finished the regular season as the seventh seed with 82 points. This was the second playoff series between these teams; in 1997, Luleå defeated AIK in three games to advance to the finals. In the regular season, Luleå won four of the five games against AIK, allowing no goals in either of these four games.

March 10	Luleå HF		6–3		AIK	Coop Norrbotten Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			15:04 - Oscar Ahlström 1
Chris Abbott 1–02:53 Toni Koivisto 1–18:50		Second period			13:27 - Patric Blomdahl 1
Sebastian Enterfeldt 1–03:25 Johan Harju 1 - pp - 11:48 Sebastian Meijer 1 - en - 17:35 Simon Hjalmarsson 1 - en - 19:30		Third period			17:59 - Oscar Ahlström 2
Johan Gustafsson 25 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 33 saves / 37 shots

March 12	AIK		4–2		Luleå HF	Hovet	Recap
No scoring		First period			09:00 - pp - Toni Koivisto 2
Christian Sandberg 1 - pp - 01:27 Oscar Ahlström 3–06:17 Daniel Rudslätt 1–12:05		Second period			No scoring
Jonas Liwing 1–13:52		Third period			19:43 - pp - Sebastian Enterfeldt 2
Viktor Fasth 28 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			David Rautio 29 saves / 33 shots

March 14	Luleå HF		2–3		AIK	Coop Norrbotten Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Johan Fransson 1–17:05		Second period			10:48 - pp - Stefan Johansson 1 12:27 - Kent McDonell 1 13:47 - sh - Daniel Bång 1
Niklas Olausson 1–05:15		Third period			No scoring
Johan Gustafsson 22 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 34 saves / 36 shots

March 16	AIK		4–1		Luleå HF	Hovet	Recap
Johannes Salmonsson 1–04:29 Josh MacNevin 1–13:20		First period			No scoring
Dick Tärnström 1–18:45		Second period			11:33 - Joonas Vihko 1
Kent McDonell 2–11:34		Third period			No scoring
Viktor Fasth 19 saves / 20 shots		Goalie stats			Johan Gustafsson 29 saves / 33 shots

March 18	Luleå HF		0–3		AIK	Coop Norrbotten Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period
		Second period			12:49 - Oscar Ahlström 4
		Third period			2:20 - pp - Patric Blomdahl 2 19:53 - en - Christian Sandberg 2
David Rautio 24 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 31 saves / 31 shots

AIK won series 4–1

(2) Skellefteå AIK vs. (8) Modo Hockey

Skellefteå finished second in the regular season with 95 points. Modo finished eighth and managed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The teams previously met in the 1978 semifinals, where Modo were swept in two games by Skellefteå. Skellefteå won all five games against Modo in the regular season, although each game was decided by only one goal.

March 10	Skellefteå AIK		3–2		Modo Hockey	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
Bud Holloway 1 - pp - 14:51		First period			No scoring
Jimmie Ericsson 1–12:31 Pierre-Édouard Bellemare 1 - pp - 14:16		Second period			09:22 - pp - Dick Axelsson 1
No scoring		Third period			13:50 - Dick Axelsson 2
Joacim Eriksson 27 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Mikael Tellqvist 36 saves / 39 shots

March 12	Modo Hockey		0–4		Skellefteå AIK	Fjällräven Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			09:54 - Bud Holloway 2
No scoring		Second period			02:28 - pp - Christian Söderström 1 18:21 - Bud Holloway 3
No scoring		Third period			17:33 - en - Erik Forssell 1
Mikael Tellqvist 22 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 29 saves / 29 shots

March 14	Skellefteå AIK		2–3	OT	Modo Hockey	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Jimmie Ericsson 2 - pp - 00:31		Second period			No scoring
Oscar Möller 1 - pp - 17:42		Third period			06:18 - Per-Åge Skrøder 1 13:31 - Mattias Ritola 1
No scoring		First overtime period			04:03 - ps - Rob Schremp 1
Joacim Eriksson 22 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Mikael Tellqvist 38 saves / 40 shots

March 16	Modo Hockey		1–0	OT	Skellefteå AIK	Fjällräven Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Nicklas Danielsson 1–02:40		First overtime period			No scoring
Mikael Tellqvist 44 saves / 44 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 36 saves / 37 shots

March 18	Skellefteå AIK		2–1		Modo Hockey	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			09:32 - pp - Niklas Sundström 1
		Second period
Petter Granberg 1–5:24 Jimmie Ericsson 3–56:56		Third period
Joacim Eriksson 26 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Mikael Tellqvist 38 saves / 40 shots

March 20	Modo Hockey		1–2		Skellefteå AIK	Fjällräven Center	Recap
		First period			00:54 - Bud Holloway 4 07:45 - Joakim Lindström 1
		Second period
Nicklas Danielsson 2–13:45		Third period
Mikael Tellqvist 31 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 33 saves / 34 shots

Skellefteå AIK won series 4–2

(3) HV71 vs. (6) Färjestad BK

HV71 finished third with 92 points and failed to make the top two spots for the first time since 2009. Färjestad finished sixth with 87 points, marking the team's worst regular season since 2000. The teams had previously faced each other six times; HV71 had only come out on top once. The most recent meeting was in the 2009 finals, when Färjestad won in five games to become the Swedish Champions.

March 11	HV71		1–4		Färjestad BK	Kinnarps Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			17:43 - Rickard Wallin 1
No scoring		Second period			01:01 - Magnus Nygren 1 08:43 - Per Åslund 1
Mattias Karlsson 1–17:49		Third period			16:12 - en - Rickard Wallin 2
Andreas Andersson 22 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Cristopher Nihlstorp 24 saves / 25 shots

March 13	Färjestad BK		3–1		HV71	Löfbergs Lila Arena	Recap
Jonas Brodin 1 - pp - 09:45		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			01:51 - pp - Jukka Voutilainen 1
Per Åslund 2–08:24 Christian Berglund 1 - en - 18:18		Third period			No scoring
Cristopher Nihlstorp 24 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Andreas Andersson 32 saves / 34 shots

March 15	HV71		4–3	OT	Färjestad BK	Kinnarps Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:55 - Anton Grundel 1 16:56 - Mattias Sjögren 1
Johan Davidsson 1–10:34 Jesse Joensuu 1–14:00		Second period			No scoring
Per Ledin 1–11:39		Third period			17:12 - Mattias Sjögren 2
Jesse Joensuu 2–17:07		First overtime period			No scoring
Andreas Andersson 5 saves / 7 shots Daniel Larsson 18 saves / 19 shots		Goalie stats			Cristopher Nihlstorp 31 saves / 34 shots Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel 10 saves / 11 shots

March 17	Färjestad BK		3–5		HV71	Löfbergs Lila Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:20 - Jesper Fasth 1
Rickard Wallin 3–01:01		Second period			No scoring
Hannes Hyvönen 1–04:46 Kristofer Berglund 1–05:06		Third period			04:01 - Mattias Karlsson 2 07:46 - Jesper Fasth 2 11:01 - pp - David Petrasek 1 11:50 - Jason Krog 1
Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel 18 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Daniel Larsson 36 saves / 39 shots

March 19	HV71		3–5		Färjestad BK	Kinnarps Arena	Recap
Kamil Piros 1–07:31		First period
Daniel Grillfors 1–02:33		Second period			07:54 - Patrik Lundh 1 15:24 - Marius Holtet 1
Noah Welch 1–19:57		Third period			01:44 - pp - Hannes Hyvönen 2 10:46 - pp - Magnus Nygren 2 18:59 - en - Marius Holtet 2
Daniel Larsson 19 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Cristopher Nihlstorp 32 saves / 35 shots

March 21	Färjestad BK		2–0		HV71	Löfbergs Lila Arena	Recap
Marcus Paulsson 1 - pp - 11:54		First period			No scoring
		Second period
Anders Bastiansen 1 - en - 19:49		Third period
Cristopher Nihlstorp 30 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Daniel Larsson 23 saves / 25 shots

Färjestad BK won series 4–2

(4) Brynäs IF vs. (5) Frölunda HC

Brynäs' fourth-place finish in the regular season was the team's best since 2001. Frölunda finished fifth and made their best regular season since 2009. This was the fifth playoff series between the teams; the two most recent ones had been won by Frölunda. The previous meeting occurred in 2006, when Frölunda swept Brynäs in four games to advance to the semifinals.

March 11	Brynäs IF		3–1		Frölunda HC	Läkerol Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Daniel Widing 1 - pp - 15:57 Jonathan Granström 1–18:24		Second period			19:27 - Jari Tolsa 1
Calle Järnkrok 1 - en - 19:33		Third period			No scoring
Johan Holmqvist 31 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Frederik Andersen 25 saves / 27 shots

March 13	Frölunda HC		2–1		Brynäs IF	Scandinavium	Recap
Fredrik Eriksson 1–15:42		First period			06:06 - Jesper Ollas 1
Mathis Olimb 1 - pp - 14:46		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Frederik Andersen 19 saves / 20 shots		Goalie stats			Johan Holmqvist 31 saves / 33 shots

March 15	Brynäs IF		4–3	OT	Frölunda HC	Läkerol Arena	Recap
Jakob Silfverberg 1–16:45		First period			No scoring
Jakob Silfverberg 2 - pp - 11:01		Second period			03:07 - Magnus Kahnberg 1 17:25 - pp - Fredrik Pettersson 1
Calle Järnkrok 2–11:51		Third period			05:52 - Mats Rosseli Olsen 1
Ryan Gunderson 1 - pp - 14:37		First overtime period			No scoring
Johan Holmqvist 26 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Frederik Andersen 35 saves / 39 shots

March 17	Frölunda HC		0–5		Brynäs IF	Scandinavium	Recap
No scoring		First period			17:25 - Jesper Ollas 2
No scoring		Second period			01:27 - Jakob Silfverberg 3 06:28 - pp - Mads Hansen 1 08:03 - Simon Löf 1
No scoring		Third period			01:08 - Sebastian Wännström 1
Frederik Andersen 37 saves / 42 shots		Goalie stats			Niklas Svedberg 32 saves / 32 shots

March 19	Brynäs IF		1–2		Frölunda HC	Läkerol Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:42 - Henrik Tömmernes 1
		Second period			00:17 - pp - Mika Pyörälä 1
Niclas Andersén 1–09:43		Third period
Niklas Svedberg 34 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Frederik Andersen 36 saves / 37 shots

March 21	Frölunda HC		3–4	OT	Brynäs IF	Scandinavium	Recap
Pierre Johnsson 1–07:38		First period			11:12 - Jakob Silfverberg 4
Magnus Kahnberg 2–03:16 Anton Axelsson 1–17:28		Second period
		Third period			05:29 - Daniel Widing 2 19:33 - Jonathan Granström 2
No scoring		First overtime period			04:23 - Jakob Silfverberg 5
Frederik Andersen 22 saves / 26 shots		Goalie stats			Niklas Svedberg 20 saves / 23 shots

Brynäs IF won series 4–2

Semifinals

All times are local (UTC+2).

(2) Skellefteå AIK vs. (7) AIK

Skellefteå won four of the five regular-season meetings against AIK, only one of which was decided by more than one goal. In the playoffs, the teams had previously faced each other in the 1978 finals; Skellefteå came out on top and clinched the championship in three games that time.

March 26	Skellefteå AIK		1–4		AIK	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Bud Holloway 5 - pp - 10:41		Third period			02:23 - Josh MacNevin 2 13:11 - Daniel Bång 2 16:10 - Kent McDonell 3 19:21 - en - Tobias Viklund 1
Joacim Eriksson 34 saves / 37 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 39 saves / 40 shots

March 28	AIK		4–5	3OT	Skellefteå AIK	Hovet	Recap
Richard Gynge 1–01:30 Johannes Salmonsson 2–06:08		First period			19:32 - Joakim Lindström 2
Christian Sandberg 3 - pp - 13:01		Second period			05:25 - Oscar Möller 2 12:23 - ps - Oscar Möller 3
Stefan Johansson 2 - pp - 09:17		Third period			12:33 - Jimmie Ericsson 4
No scoring		Third overtime period			10:49 - pp - Jimmie Ericsson 5
Viktor Fasth 59 saves / 64 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 43 saves / 47 shots

March 30	Skellefteå AIK		5–1		AIK	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Melker Karlsson 1–11:38 Oscar Möller 4 - ps - 19:31		Second period			No scoring
Lee Goren 1 - pp - 03:08 Lee Goren 2 - pp - 06:07 Lee Goren 3 - en - 17:47		Third period			09:58 - sh - Joakim Nordström 1
Joacim Eriksson 24 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 35 saves / 39 shots Markus Svensson 8 saves / 8 shots

April 1	AIK		5–3		Skellefteå AIK	Hovet	Recap
Dick Tärnström 2 - pp - 04:28 Johannes Salmonsson 3–05:00		First period			07:12 - pp - Oscar Möller 5
Kent McDonell 4–05:17		Second period			06:50 - Pierre-Édouard Bellemare 2 11:49 - Bud Holloway 6
Robert Rosén 1 - pp - 15:28 Daniel Rudslätt 2 - pp - 18:44		Third period			No scoring
Viktor Fasth 23 saves / 26 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 30 saves / 35 shots

April 3	Skellefteå AIK		8–2		AIK	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
Lee Goren 4–03:36 Joakim Lindström 3–06:29 Jimmie Ericsson 6 - pp - 11:28 Bud Holloway 7–18:01		First period			No scoring
Erik Forssell 2 - pp - 13:03		Second period			02:59 - sh - Christian Sandberg 4 18:04 - Kent McDonell 5
Anders Söderberg 1–04:48 Christian Söderström 2 - pp - 13:10 Melker Karlsson 2–13:44		Third period			No scoring
Joacim Eriksson 17 saves / 19 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 42 saves / 50 shots

April 5	AIK		2–1		Skellefteå AIK	Hovet	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Robert Rosén 2 - pp - 13:04		Second period			No scoring
Robert Rosén 3–03:21		Third period			06:23 - pp - Bud Holloway 8
Viktor Fasth 39 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 22 saves / 24 shots

April 7	Skellefteå AIK		5–3		AIK	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
Jimmie Ericsson 7 - pp - 10:56 Johan Forsberg 1–14:21		First period			19:14 - Kent McDonell 6
Oscar Möller 6 - pp - 05:32		Second period			No scoring
Christian Söderström 3 - pp - 01:35 Lee Goren 5 - en - 16:48		Third period			09:11 - pp - Tobias Viklund 2 19:43 - sh - Daniel Bång 3
Joacim Eriksson 21 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Viktor Fasth 26 saves / 30 shots

Skellefteå AIK won series 4–3

(4) Brynäs IF vs. (6) Färjestad BK

Brynäs won three of the five regular-season games against Färjestad. The teams had previously met each other in the playoffs eight times; Färjestad had come out on top in the six latest occasions. The most recent meeting occurred in 2011, when Färjestad knocked Brynäs out in the quarterfinals, winning in five games.

March 26	Brynäs IF		2–3	2OT	Färjestad BK	Läkerol Arena	Recap
Mattias Ekholm 1–06:34		First period			12:16 - Stefan Meyer 1
No scoring		Second period			09:57 - Stefan Meyer 2
Daniel Widing 3–10:10		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		Second overtime period			03:23 - Patrik Lundh 2
Niklas Svedberg 37 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Cristopher Nihlstorp 21 saves / 22 shots Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel 24 saves / 25 shots

March 28	Färjestad BK		2–4		Brynäs IF	Löfbergs Lila Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			04:30 - pp - Calle Järnkrok 3 12:57 - Mats Lavander 1
Rickard Wallin 4–00:20 Christian Berglund 2–11:07		Third period			06:32 - Jonathan Granström 3 18:30 - en - Jakob Silfverberg 6
Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel 32 saves / 35 shots		Goalie stats			Niklas Svedberg 29 saves / 31 shots

March 30	Brynäs IF		4–2		Färjestad BK	Läkerol Arena	Recap
Johan Larsson 1–09:30		First period			No scoring
Martin Johansson 1–12:25		Second period			09:28 - Rickard Wallin 5 16:43 - Christian Berglund 3
Jonas Nordquist 1–09:26 Jakob Silfverberg 7 - en - 19:31		Third period			No scoring
Niklas Svedberg 29 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel 25 saves / 28 shots

April 1	Färjestad BK		0–3		Brynäs IF	Löfbergs Lila Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			11:44 - Joachim Rohdin 1
No scoring		Third period			12:36 - Mads Hansen 2 17:03 - en - Jesper Ollas 3
Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel 24 saves / 26 shots		Goalie stats			Niklas Svedberg 26 saves / 26 shots

April 3	Brynäs IF		4–2		Färjestad BK	Läkerol Arena	Recap
Mats Lavander 2–02:32		First period			19:29 - Marius Holtet 3
Sebastian Wännström 2–01:27 Calle Järnkrok 4–08:02		Second period			00:57 - Jonas Brodin 2
Jonathan Granström 4 - en - 19:18		Third period			No scoring
Niklas Svedberg 42 saves / 44 shots		Goalie stats			Cristopher Nihlstorp 19 saves / 22 shots

Brynäs IF won series 4–1

(2) Skellefteå AIK vs. (4) Brynäs IF

Brynäs won three of the five regular-season games between the two teams. This was only the second playoff series between these teams. The first playoff meeting took place in the 1976 semifinals, when Brynäs defeated Skellefteå two games to zero and advanced to the finals.

April 10	Skellefteå AIK		3–6		Brynäs IF	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			07:03 - Jesper Ollas 4 14:11 - Jakob Silfverberg 8
Pierre-Édouard Bellemare 3 - pp - 09:19		Second period			07:01 - Joachim Rohdin 2 10:54 - pp - Martin Johansson 2
Joakim Lindström 4 - pp - 05:45 Bud Holloway 9 - pp - 19:58		Third period			01:42 - Joachim Rohdin 3 18:04 - en - Jakob Silfverberg 9
Joacim Eriksson 22 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Niklas Svedberg 43 saves / 46 shots

April 12	Brynäs IF		3–2	OT	Skellefteå AIK	Läkerol Arena	Recap
Jörgen Sundqvist 1–13:53		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			16:16 - Niclas Burström 1
Daniel Widing 4–02:26		Third period			18:51 - Pierre-Édouard Bellemare 4
Martin Johansson 3–02:03		First overtime period			No scoring
Niklas Svedberg 22 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 19 saves / 22 shots

April 14	Skellefteå AIK		0–1		Brynäs IF	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			14:23 - Jonathan Granström 5
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Joacim Eriksson 17 saves / 18 shots		Goalie stats			Niklas Svedberg 38 saves / 38 shots

April 15	Brynäs IF		3–4	OT	Skellefteå AIK	Läkerol Arena	Recap
Jakob Silfverberg 10 - pp - 03:08 Jakob Silfverberg 11 - pp - 17:41		First period			14:08 - Erik Forssell 3
No scoring		Second period			07:23 - Anders Söderberg 2 19:27 - pp - Joakim Lindström 5
Ryan Gunderson 2–05:25		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			06:35 - pp - Oscar Lindberg 1
Niklas Svedberg 32 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 24 saves / 27 shots

April 17	Skellefteå AIK		3–2		Brynäs IF	Skellefteå Kraft Arena	Recap
Bud Holloway 10 - pp - 11:56		First period			No scoring
Tomas Skogs 1–18:42		Second period			06:21 - Johan Larsson 2 09:04 - Jakob Silfverberg 12
Oscar Möller 7–13:33		Third period			No scoring
Joacim Eriksson 20 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Johan Holmqvist 34 saves / 37 shots

April 19	Brynäs IF		2–0		Skellefteå AIK	Läkerol Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Jakob Silfverberg 13–13:50		Second period			No scoring
Ryan Gunderson 3–12:09		Third period			No scoring
Niklas Svedberg 29 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Joacim Eriksson 26 saves / 28 shots

Brynäs IF won series 4–2

Playoff scoring leaders

Updated as of 19 April 2012.[29]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Bud Holloway	Skellefteå AIK	19	10	13	23	+4	4
Jakob Silfverberg	Brynäs IF	17	13	7	20	+17	4
Joakim Lindström	Skellefteå AIK	19	5	12	17	+1	22
Jimmie Ericsson	Skellefteå AIK	19	7	9	16	–1	38
Calle Järnkrok	Brynäs IF	16	4	12	16	+12	12
Oscar Möller	Skellefteå AIK	19	7	8	15	+4	8
Lee Goren	Skellefteå AIK	14	5	8	13	0	22
Kent McDonell	AIK	12	6	6	12	+9	18
Pierre-Édouard Bellemare	Skellefteå AIK	15	4	8	12	+6	12
Jonathan Granström	Brynäs IF	17	5	5	10	+10	30

Playoff leading goaltenders

These are the leaders in GAA and save percentage among goaltenders who played at least 40% of the team's minutes. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. Updated as of the end of the season.[29]

GP = Games Played; TOI = Time on Ice (minutes); GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	Team	GP	TOI	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Niklas Svedberg	Brynäs IF	13	813:36	23	4	.947	1.70
Cristopher Nihlstorp	Färjestad BK	7	399:51	12	1	.938	1.80
Mikael Tellqvist	Modo Hockey	6	360:59	12	1	.946	1.99
Joacim Eriksson	Skellefteå AIK	19	1199:52	44	1	.918	2.20
Daniel Larsson	HV71	4	233:38	9	0	.914	2.31
Viktor Fasth	AIK	12	752:27	35	1	.921	2.79

Elitserien awards

Guldhjälmen: Jakob Silfverberg, Brynäs IF
Guldpucken: Jakob Silfverberg, Brynäs IF
Honken Trophy: Viktor Fasth, AIK
Håkan Loob Trophy: Richard Gynge, AIK
Rookie of the Year: Johan Larsson, Brynäs IF
Salming Trophy: Mattias Ekholm, Brynäs IF
Playoff MVP (later renamed the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy): Jakob Silfverberg, Brynäs IF
Guldpipan: Ulf Rönnmark

Suspensions and fines

References

1. "Historical Statistics". Swedish Ice Hockey Association.
2. "2011–12 Elitserien games" (in Swedish). Hockeyligan.se. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
3. Axel Pileby (17 November 2011). "Risk att man tar död på intresset". Expressen (in Swedish). hockey.expressen.se. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
4. "2011–12 Elitserien playoffs schedule" (in Swedish). Hockeyligan.se. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
5. "Hockeyn ska inte straffa klubbarna" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
6. "AIK säljer Linus Videll" (in Swedish). AIK IF. 24 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
7. Joachim Aronsson (14 September 2011). "Debutnolla för Frederik" (in Swedish). Frölunda HC. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
8. Bosse Johander (8 October 2011). "Historiskt derby i Småland" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
9. Per Johansson (8 October 2011). "Iggulden straffade HV71 i smålandsderbyt" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers Hockey. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
10. Frank Eriksson (23 September 2011). "Mikael Håkanson skrev historia" (in Swedish). Hockeyligan. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
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12. "Luleå HF - Linköpings HC". Hockeyligan.se. 23 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
13. Joakim Lundmark (10 December 2011). "Results 10 December 2011". Hockeyligan. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
14. Gustafsson, Peter (10 December 2011). "En grym upplevelse". Jönköpingsnytt (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 December 2011.
15. Hallgren, Rasmus (10 December 2011). "Matchrapport: HV71-Linköping 0-1 efter förlängning" (in Swedish). Linköpings HC. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
16. "HV71 och Linköping möts utomhus i Jubileumsmatchen" (in Swedish). HV71. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
17. "Elitserien hos Canal Digital" (in Swedish). Canal Digital. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
18. "Historisk 3D-sändning av Djurgården - AIK" (in Swedish). Hockeyligan. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
19. Axel Pileby (20 September 2011). "Derbyrycket som gav Djurgården segern" (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
20. Tobias Josefsson (9 September 2011). "Elitserien hedrar de omkomna i flygkatastrofen" (in Swedish). Hockeyligan. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
21. "Stefan Livs tröja hissas den 10 januari". hv71.se (in Swedish). HV71. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
22. Axel Pileby (1 October 2011). "Här hedras Sven Tumba på Hovet" (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
23. Axel Pileby (1 October 2011). "Djurgården planerar att hedra Sven Tumba" (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
24. Uhlin, Daniel (24 January 2012). "Charles Berglund - vinnaren". difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
25. Wahlberg, Malin (24 January 2012). "Rörd Challe fick sin tröja hissad". Sportbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 January 2012.
26. "Djurgårdens IF - Färjestads BK 2-1". difhockey.se (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Hockey. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
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29. "Statistik - Swedish Ice Hockey Association". Swedish Ice Hockey Association.

External links

Media related to 2011-2012 Swedish Elite League season at Wikimedia Commons