2011–12 Elitserien season

The 2011–12 Elitserien season is the 37th and current season of Elitserien. The regular season began on 13 September 2011 and is scheduled to end on 6 March 2012. The following playoffs are scheduled to begin on 10 March 2012 and end between 15–21 April. Färjestads BK are the defending Swedish champions.

In the 2011 Kvalserien, Modo Hockey and Växjö Lakers qualified for the 2011–12 Elitserien season.

To allow for local music events as well as other ice hockey ones, this season has 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 is more active: from 14–29 November 2011 and 16–31 January 2012, there are Elitserien games every day (except for two days, 20 November and 22 January).^[1][2]

A significant change in this Elitserien season is that the clubs won't be fined for supporter incidents as long as the clubs correctly follow the security rules.^[3]

On 17 October 2011, the Swedish Police Service decided that the police should earn money 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.^[4]

Notable games

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.^[5]

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.^[6] In front of an outsold 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9][10]

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.^{[11][12][13][14]}

3D broadcasting

Certain chosen games will be broadcasted in 3D, marking the first time in history that Elitserien is broadcasted in 3D.^[15] 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.^[16] In front of an outsold Ericsson Globe, the game ended 4–2 in Djurgården's favour.^[17]

Pre-game honours

As a result of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, where Swedish former HV71 goaltender Stefan Liv and nearly the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team were killed, the premier round games between 13–15 September 2011 began with a one-minute silence.^[18] In honour of Stefan Liv, his No. 1 jersey will be retired and raised to the rafters by HV71 in Kinnarps Arena prior to HV71's home game against Timrå IK on 10 January 2012.^[19]

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.^[20][21]

Regular season

Standings

Standings as of 30 December 2011.^[22]

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

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Updated as of games played on 29 December 2011.^[23]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Leading goaltenders

These are the leaders in GAA among goaltenders who have played at least 40% of the team's minutes. Updated as of 29 December 2011.^[24]

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

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

In the first round, the highest remaining seed choose which of the four lowest remaining seeds to be matched against. In the second round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The fourth-seeded team is always matched against the remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. Each best-of-seven series follows an alternating home team format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 2 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Suspensions and fines

References