Herlev Eagles mod SønderjyskE, Martinsen Arena, 23. september 2026

Skrevet af Malin McKay

Onsdag den 23. september mødte Herlev Eagles SønderjyskE for første gang i denne sæson. Efter to nederlag i træk var opgaven klar: få gang i pointhøsten foran mere end 900 tilskuere på en hverdagsaften. Holdet manglede dog to profiler i forsvaret: Marius Kring Andersen, der pådrog sig en skade sent i tredje periode i søndagens nederlag til Odense, og Noah Samsøe, der afsonede anden og sidste spilledag af sin karantæne for en knætackling mod Aalborg.

I tyve minutter lignede Herlev det hold, der sluttede på andenpladsen sidste sæson. Carl Skärström bragte hjemmeholdet foran på overtal efter 14:26, og Victor Cubars fordoblede føringen få sekunder senere — to mål på under et minut, og en skudstatistik på 15-9 til Herlev.

Isak Ask, der holdt styr på tingene bagerst, pegede på holdspil som nøglen til den gode start. "Vi spillede som et hold derude — vi tænkte ikke for meget, vi fulgte vores system og bare spillede."

Men midt i anden periode gled det væk. Hvor første periode bar præg af energi og gejst, forsvandt det hele i anden, da SønderjyskE scorede tre ubesvarede mål på tyve minutter.

Ideen om at spille "simpelt" har været et gennemgående tema i pressemøder hele sæsonen. Adspurgt om, hvad det egentlig betyder ude på isen, pegede Ask på positionering og timing — og på, hvad der får det til at bryde sammen. "Når det begynder at gå godt, begynder vi at prøve vores eget, og så falder vi ned i sådan en dyk, som vi gjorde i anden periode i dag. Jeg tror på at spille kampen igennem i 60 minutter."

Skärström var enig i diagnosen set fra angrebet: "Vi slapper lidt af, når vi har en føring. Vi taber flere pucke i den offensive zone, og vi havde ikke samme sult efter mål."

Ask gik et skridt videre og pegede på et mønster i, hvordan føringen forsvandt — alle tre af SønderjyskEs mål kom på baggrund af Herlevs egne fejl. "Vi blev lidt slarvede. Det er noget, vi skal arbejde med — at holde disciplinen hele kampen igennem."

Herlev gav dog ikke op. Med stillingen 2-3 inden tredje periode affyrede Eagles 9 skud mod SønderjyskEs 4 i den afsluttende periode, og målmand Alexander Hellnemo blev taget ud med lidt over et minut tilbage til fordel for en ekstra markspiller. Udligningen kom dog aldrig.

"Vi lagde et kæmpe pres på i sidste periode og kunne sagtens have udlignet — det lykkedes bare ikke," sagde Hellnemo. Adspurgt om vendekampen i anden periode, hvor SønderjyskE hentede sig tilbage fra 0-2, var han ærlig: "Jeg følte ikke selv, jeg spillede godt nok. Jeg ville gerne hjælpe holdet mere, men jeg kunne ikke."

For Hellnemo er løsningen ikke kompliceret — det handler om udholdenhed, ikke identitet. "Vi viser, at vi er et godt hold, når vi spiller vores bedste spil. Vi skal bare lære at gøre det i 60 minutter."

Tre nederlag i træk har sendt Herlev ned på en 8. plads i ligaen, men ingen i omklædningsrummet lød modløse efter den uoptimale start. "Resultatet blev ikke, som vi ønskede, men jeg synes stadig, vi spillede godt," sagde Skärström. "Vores spil var bedre end de sidste par kampe — så jeg synes, det var et skridt i den rigtige retning."

English

Herlev's Foundation Is Solid — Now It Needs to Last

Herlev Eagles vs. SønderjyskE, Martinsen Arena, September 23, 2026

By Malin McKay

Wednesday the 23rd of September, Herlev Eagles played SønderjyskE in their first head-to-head of the 26-27 season. Herlev, having lost their last two games, looked to right the ship in front of over 900 fans at the weekday match. Two of the defensive core were missing from the lineup: Marius Kring Andersen, injured in a scrape late in Sunday's loss to Odense, and Noah Samsø, serving the second game of a suspension for a kneeing penalty against Aalborg.

For twenty minutes, Herlev looked like the team that finished in second place at the end of last season. Carl Skärström opened the scoring on the power play at 14:26, and Victor Cubars doubled the lead just seconds later — two goals in under a minute, and a 15-9 shot advantage to match.

Isak Ask, who anchored Herlev's blue line, credited the fast start to structure. "We played as a team out there — we didn't overthink it, we followed our system and just played."

Then, midway through the second, it slipped away. Where the first period showed real energy, it evaporated in the second, as SønderjyskE scored three unanswered goals in twenty minutes.

The idea of keeping play "simple" has been a recurring theme in post-game interviews this season. Asked what that actually looks like on the ice, Ask pointed to positioning and timing — and to what breaks it down. "Once it feels like it's going well, we start trying our own things, and that's when we fall into a dip, like we did in the second period today. I believe in playing for the full 60 minutes."

Skärström echoed the diagnosis from the forward position: "We start to relax a little with a lead. We lost more pucks in the offensive zone, and we didn't have the same hunger for goals."

Ask went further, pointing to a pattern in how the lead unraveled — all three SønderjyskE goals traced back to Herlev's own mistakes. "We got a little careless. That's something we need to work on, staying disciplined for the whole match."

Herlev didn't fold. Down 2-3 entering the third, the Eagles outshot SønderjyskE 9-4 over the final twenty minutes, pulling goaltender Alexander Hellnemo with just over a minute remaining for an extra attacker. The equalizer never came.

"We made a great push in the last period and could've tied the game — unfortunately we couldn't," Hellnemo said. Asked about the second-period swing that let SønderjyskE claw back from 2-0, he was direct: "I didn't feel like I played too well either. I wanted to help the team more, but I couldn't."

For Hellnemo, the fix isn't complicated — it's stamina, not identity. "We show that we're a great team when we play our best. We just have to learn how to play that for 60 minutes."

Three losses in a row have dropped Herlev to 8th in the league, a steep fall from last season's second-place finish — but nobody inside the room sounded like a team in crisis. "The result wasn't how we wanted, but I think we played good anyways," Skärström said. "Our game was better than the last couple of games — so I think it was a good step."