Skrevet af Malin Mckay
En scoringstørke mod et hold, Ørnene plejer at slå, var ikke, hvad nogen havde regnet med denne fredag, i pre-seasons anden og sidste hjemmekamp. Kampen blev afgjort af nogle afgørende episoder, der sendte den i overtid, og hele opgøret blev spillet i et mærkbart andet tempo end resten af pre-season indtil nu.
Med et skudforhold på 45-31 dominerede Herlev klart spillet offensivt, men kunne det meste af kampen ikke omsætte det til mål. Rungsted kom foran i anden periode ved Filip Karlsson og udbyggede føringen til 2-0 tidligt i tredje ved Andreas Nielsson. Med under ti minutter tilbage så det ud til at blive Herlevs første nederlag i almindelig spilletid denne pre-season.
Vendepunktet kom, da Matthias Asperup brød holdets lange scoringstørke og reducerede til 1-2, assisteret af Joseph Jonsson. Målet gav ikke bare holdet nyt liv i tredje periode — det er også det første rigtige svar på den mere stille produktion, Asperup har måttet høre om siden sidste sæson.
Kaptajnen fortalte om øjeblikket: "Det var et vigtigt mål, for vi havde snakket om, at vi skulle have et hurtigt mål, hvis vi kom bagud 2-0, bare for at holde liv i kampen. Godt spillet af Joffe [Joseph Jonsson], og så var det bare at sætte den ind."
Med målmanden taget ud i de sidste sekunder fandt Jonsson selv udligningen til 2-2 — hans anden pointgivende aktion inden for få minutter, og en tydelig påmindelse om, at kemien med Asperup ikke er forsvundet, selv efter to sæsoner fra hinanden i Sønderjyske. Jonsson om opspillet til Asperups mål:"Jeg tror ikke, det er nogen hemmelighed, at Aspe og jeg elsker at spille sammen, og vi ser hinanden godt derude. Vi havde brug for et mål, og det kom på det perfekte tidspunkt."
Han fortalte også, hvad det betyder for ham at score for netop Herlev i sin første sæson tilbage i klubben: "Det er noget, jeg har savnet — at høre mit navn blive råbt af fansene — og det betyder meget for mig. Det er bare fedt at være tilbage."
Kampen forblev målløs gennem en hurtig overtid og gik til straffeslag. Efter forsøg fra begge hold — hvor blandt andre Victor Cubars, Isak Göransson og Rungsteds Theodore True enten scorede eller brændte deres chancer — blev det tredjekædecenter Gustav Green, der afgjorde det, med to sikre scoringer i træk til 3-2.
Green gjorde det klart, at han ikke tog øjeblikket for givet, og var tydeligt glad for sin aften efter to scoringer i straffeslagskonkurrencen, i en preseason han ellers mest har tilbragt i kulissen. Han fortalte om, hvordan det er at score i en straffeslagskonkurrence med publikum kigger på: "Det er lidt specielt, tror jeg. Jeg har ikke prøvet det så mange gange, må jeg være helt ærlig — alle er helt stille lige inden man skal ned og prøve at score."
Green, der var en rask udeladelse i sæsonens allerførste kamp mod netop denne modstander, var åben om at have misset den kamp, og hvad denne aften betød til sammenligning: "Jeg glædede mig til at spille mod Rungsted, og det var lidt ærgerligt, at jeg ikke skulle spille den første kamp. Men nu er jeg glad for, at jeg spillede i aften. Det var dejligt, at vi vandt."
Udvisningerne blev igen et tema for Herlev, og denne kamp var endnu en aften med flere udvisningsminutter end modstanderen. Asperup var åben om, hvordan holdet håndterer det i omklædningsrummet:"Nogle gange tager man flere udvisninger end i andre kampe, og i aften var det en af de kampe, hvor vi fik lidt for mange. Det er noget, vi snakker om — men det er aldrig med vilje, så ingen får skæld ud for det. Vi prøver bare at minimere det."
Det vigtigste var ikke kun den sidste fase og evnen til at holde fast til allersidste sekund — en kontrast til tidligere på ugen, hvor det var holdets udholdenhed, der blev sat spørgsmålstegn ved — men snarere det, der skulle til for at nå frem til det sidste ryk. Jonsson pegede på, hvad der ændrede sig offensivt, da holdet endelig fandt vej til scoringerne sent i kampen:
"Sommetider arbejder man for meget på sine egne individuelle ting, og vi havde talt om at få flere pucke ned mod mål. Jeg tror, når chancerne udebliver lidt, kan man blive lidt anspændt — og så må man bare gå ud og gøre det bedre. Vi talte bare om at give alt."
Med sejren fortsætter Herlev sin gode start på preseasonen, og både Asperup og Green ser allerede frem til næste weekends tur til Belfast. Som Asperup udtrykte det: "Det bliver sjovt at møde anden modstand, end vi ser herhjemme i Danmark. Vi har gjort det de sidste to år, og det har været nogle rigtig sjove ture — ikke kun på grund af hockeyen, men også fordi det ryster holdet sammen."
English:
A scoring drought against a team the Eagles are used to beating was not what anyone expected this Friday, in the second and final home game of the preseason. With critical plays forcing the game to overtime, this one was played at a noticeably different pace than the rest of the preseason so far.
With a Shots On Goal differential of 45-31, Herlev clearly dominated the playmaking side of the game, but spent much of the game unable to produce anything in the back of the net. Rungsted took the lead in the second period through Filip Karlsson, then extended it to 2-0 early in the third courtesy of Andreas Nielsson. With under ten minutes to play, it looked like Herlev's first regulation loss of the preseason.
The shift in energy late in the game was led by Matthias Asperup, who broke the team's long scoring drought, cutting the deficit to 1-2 with an assist from Joseph Jonsson. It wasn't just a lift for the team in the third — it's also the first real answer to the quieter production numbers that followed Asperup out of last season. The captain described the moment: "It was an important goal, because we'd talked about needing a quick goal if we went down 2-0, just to keep the game alive. Great play by Joffe [Joseph Jonsson], and then it was just about putting it in."
With the goalie pulled in the final seconds, Jonsson himself found the equalizer to make it 2-2 — his second point-scoring play within a matter of minutes, and a clear reminder that his chemistry with Asperup hasn't faded, even after two seasons apart at SønderjyskE. Jonsson on the setup to Asperup's goal: "I don't think it's any secret that Asperup and I love playing together, and we see each other well out there. We needed a goal, and it came at the perfect time." He also spoke about what it means for him to be scoring for Herlev specifically, in his first season back with the club: "It's something I've missed — hearing my name called out by the fans — and it means a lot to me. It's just great to be back."
The game stayed scoreless through a fast-paced overtime and went to a shootout. After attempts from both sides — with Victor Cubars, Isak Göransson, and Rungsted's Theodore True among those who either scored or missed their chances — it was third-line center Gustav Green who settled it, converting two shots in a row to make it 3-2.
Green made it clear he didn't take the moment for granted, and was visibly pleased with his night, converting twice in the shootout after a preseason spent mostly out of the spotlight. He spoke about what it's like to score in a shootout, with the crowd watching: "It's a bit special, I think. I haven't done that many times, to be honest — everyone goes completely quiet right before you head down to try and score."
Green, who was a healthy scratch back in the season's very first game against this same opponent, was candid about missing the game, and how this moment impacted him: "I was looking forward to playing Rungsted, and it was a bit of a shame I didn't get to play the first game. But now I'm happy I got to play tonight. It felt great that we won."
Penalties continued to be a theme for Herlev, and this game was another night with more penalty minutes than their opponent. Asperup opened up about how the team is handling it in the locker room, "Sometimes you take more penalties than in other games, and tonight was one of those games where we took a few too many. It's something we talk about — but it's never intentional, so nobody gets called out for it. We're just trying to minimize it."
Important to the game was not only the final stretch and being able to hang on until the last second - a contrast to the game earlier in the week where it was their stamina that fell into questioning - but rather what it took to get to the final push for the team. Jonsson pointed to what shifted offensively as the team finally broke through late in the game: "Sometimes you work on your own individual things a bit too much, and we'd talked about getting more pucks to the net. I think when chances dry up a little, you can get a bit tight, and you just have to go out there and do better. We just talked about giving it everything."
With the win, Herlev continues its strong start to the preseason, and both Asperup and Green are already looking ahead to next weekend's trip to Belfast. As Asperup put it: "It'll be fun to face different opposition than what we see here in Denmark. We've done it the last two years, and they've been really fun trips — not just because of the hockey, but because it brings the team together."