In the 80's, Djurgården revolutionised the game of hockey with the strict 1-3-1 system. Now they are hoping to do it again. This week the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet revealed that the club this winter only will be playing with one defenseman - and 4 forwards! "We really believe in this", said assistant coach Mats Waltin.

There has been talk that Djurgården lacks defencemen, and the club has been critised for not acquiring new players. But here is the explanation. This autumn they are introducing a new tactics system, which they hope will revolutionise hockey in Sweden - and the whole world.

The men behind the new idea are Djurgårdens coach duo Hardy Nilsson and Mats Waltin. "We have been thinking and thinking and come to the conclusion that this is the future. This will change the game of hockey and we believe 100% in this model", said Waltin.

Already in the spring the both coaches started making plans for the new - and more offensive - system. All in big secrecy. It is not until now that they are talking open about how Djurgården will play next season. "We will be using four forwards and one defenseman, a so-called sweeper", said Mats Waltin.

"The defenceman that disappears will be transformed into another center, so basically we have two centers, two very offensive forwards and one sweeper", he says. That way Nilsson/Waltin hope to have a more creative offense, which will result in more goals scored. "The two forwards will be extremely offensive and with two centers we hope that these two will have a lot of puckcontrol", said Waltin.

The coaches were asked: 'Aren't you worried that you will be vulnerable defensively?' "No. The centers will take more responsibility all over the ice and both of them will help the lone defenceman when we are defending."

In the 80's Djurgården turned hockey Sweden upside down with its extreme 1-3-1-tactics. The criticism was massive, but the the club continued to develop the system and it became a success. Today even NHL teams have duplicated it. That time the men behind were Putte Carlsson and Lasse Falk. Now it's Mats Waltin and Hardy Nilsson.

"It looks damn good to be frank and I'm confident that it will work great in practice too", says Mats Waltin.

Daniel Uhlin

Malmö IF has a new tax debt for approximately 8.9 million SEK (US$ 1.1m) for four Finnish players.
Since earlier records Mif has a debt of 10 million SEK. Chairman of Mif, Percy Nilsson, said:
"If it gets necessary I'll have to pay the money myself."

The players that are involved are Janne Ojanen, Juha Rihijärvi, Mikko Peltola and Marko Kiprusoff.
Mif will appeal against the decision says thier legal counsel, Sören Brekell. The problem that
caused this in the first place is that Mif are hiring players from a country with lower taxes than
Sweden's, but the authority has investigated this and come to the conclusion that Mif must pay
taxes to Sweden too.

Other News:

HV 71 are considering changing their name. Main sponsor Husqvarna doesn't like the logo with a
Bull on. It belives that it has a connection with the Belgian Blue. He would like HV 71 to change
their name to Husqvarna Vikings (it's Husqvarna Vetterstad at the moment).

Marko Jantunen is probably on his way from Västra Frölunda. The coach (Tomme Boustedt) and
Jantunen have had problems for a long time. He'll probably go to HV 71, Färjestad or a Finnish team.

After 10 titles in the 60s and 70s, Brynäs IF finally added their second title of the 90s by defeating MoDo 3 games to 2 in the final series.

Ove Molin and Roger Kyrö powerplay goals gave the Gavle team a 2:0 lead, only for MoDo's Sedin twins to combine on two goals to tie the game up going into the final session.

Kyrö's second of the night in the 44th minute gave Brynäs the lead once more, which proved to be the game and title winner. Molin scored his second into the empty net six seconds from time.

Brynäs' dozen titles: 64,66,67,68,70,71,72,76,77,80,93,99

Final: Game 5
Modo v Brynäs 2:4 (0:1,2:1,0:2)

04:29 0:1 Ove Molin (Pär Djoos/Per Löfström) PP
21:13 0:2 Roger Kyrö (T Kivelä/M Luovi) PP
30:29 1:2 Jan-Axel Alavaara (H Sedin/ D Sedin)
39:24 2:2 Daniel Sedin (H Sedin/M Wernblom) PP
43:41 2:3 Roger Kyrö (T Kivelä/M Tuulola)
59:54 2:4 Ove Molin EN

SoG: 37-21 (16-8,10-7,11-6)
PiM: Modo 4x2m, Brynäs 5x2m
Referee: Peter Andersson, Karlstad
Attendance: 6,458

The "Red Machine" of MoDo Hockey (19 points clear), Djurgården, Färjestad and Brynäs are the only teams to have definitely qualified for the Swedish "Slutspelar" with just four rounds remaining in the regular season. Luleå, Västra Frölunda, Leksand, Malmö, HV71, AIK and Västerås are separated by just 10 points (3 points for a win in regulation time).

Luleå lost their first "matchball" on Sunday as they lost 2:5 at Västerås, who came back from 2:1 down and had goalie Magnus Eriksson to thank for their win.

The remaining schedule with the current positions and points totals in brackets:
(EHL points system without penalty shots, ie a game can also be tied for a point each)

4/3
Leksand(7,66) v Frölunda(6,67)
Luleå(5,69) v Brynäs(4,73)
Malmö(8,62) v Västerås(11,59)
Björklöven(12,34) v Färjestad(3,74)
AIK(10,61) v HV71(9,62)
MoDo(1,96) v Djurgården(2,77)

6/3
Luleå(5,69) v MoDo
Färjeståd(3,74) v Malmö(8,62)
HV71(9,62) v Leksand(7,66)
Frölunda(6,67) v Brynäs(4,73)
Djurgården(2,77) v Västerås(11,59)
Björklöven v AIK(10,61)

9/3
Färjeståd(3,74) v AIK(10,61)
Djurgården(2,77) v Frölunda(6,67)
Västerås(11,59) v Leksand(7,66)
HV71(9,62) v Luleå(5,69)
MoDo v Björklöven
Brynäs(4,73) v Malmö(8,62)

11/3
Luleå(5,69) v Färjestad(3,74)
AIK(10,61) v MoDo
Björklöven v Djurgården(2,77)
Frölunda(6,67) v Västerås(11,59)
Leksand(7,66) v Brynäs(4,73)
Malmö(8,62) v HV71(9,62)

Games against Västerås have a history of misfortune for Leksands IF. Last Tuesday this was again the case, as in a freak accident involving an opponent's skate, Johan Hedberg suffered a cut tendon in his right hand.

At first it was hoped he'd only miss one or two games, but the next morning the truth came to light... four to five weeks in plaster for the top goaltender. Hedberg will miss the Globen Cup in Stockholm next week and can target his thoughts on the playoffs. MoDo's Petter Rönnqvist replaces the Leksand goalie in the Tre Kronor squad for the final leg of the Euro Hockey Tour.

The unofficial European Championship reaches its climax in the second week of February as the Swedes host the Globen Cup. Currently leading the EHT standings by three points, with only Finland having a realistic chance of overtaking them, Tre Kronor will once again be led by two different coaches.

Nicklas Wikegaard of Malmö and Lars Molin of Björklöven have the unenviable job of leading the World Champions to the unofficial European crown on home ice. The squad:

Goaltenders
Johan Hedberg (Leksand), Petter Rönnqvist (MoDo)

Defence
Christer Olsson (Frölunda), Pär Djoos (Brynäs), Kim Johnsson, Niclas Hävelid (both Malmö), Dick Tärnström (AIK), Hans Jonsson (MoDo), Thomas Johansson, Björn Nord (both Djurgården)

Forwards
Anders Huusko (HV71), Magnus Wernblom, Per Svartvadet, Samuel Påhlsson (all MoDo), Ove Molin, Jan Larsson (both Brynäs), Marcus Thuresson, Jesper Mattsson (both Malmö), Nichlas Falk, Per Eklund (both Djurgården), Peter Nordström, Jörgen Jönsson (both Färjestad), Andreas Karlsson (Leksand)