I’d been working Monday to Friday during the Lulea trip, so hadn’t got up to much touristy stuff during that time. One thing that we did do though was keep an eye out for the Northern Lights, or the Polar Lights as they call them in these parts.
We got lucky on two separate evenings. The first one was that classic green tint. Jen could see it in real time, but I could only capture it in a photo. The next evening it was a red tinge, visible even to me. Neither occasion was particularly spectacular, but at least I’ve seen the phenomenon now.
So, the hockey. It’s been an odd season for Lulea. They won the league last year and so have also competed in the Champions League this time around. They’ve done ok in the international competition and will line up in the Champions League final next month.
The domestic league hasn’t gone as well and for a long time they were in the lower half of the table. They’ve picked up though and have risen to sixth, which gets them into the play-offs. Today’s opponents Brynas were in seventh and so it was definitely a game with something riding on the outcome.
It was a close game, with Lulea eventually swapping their keeper for an extra outfield player and equalizing in the final seconds of normal time. Neither side scored in that five-minute play where each has removed two of their players from the ice and so it went to sudden-death penalties. I’ve not seen this previously in hockey, but it turns out that, as the keepers can virtually fill the goal, it is incredibly difficult to score.
It took about ten efforts before a puck went into the net to clinch the game. Lulea were the team that nicked it and the win consolidated their sixth place. It looks like the play-offs are on and I wouldn’t bet against them doing well in the post-season.
Trail of the Lion King 