Golden dreams put on ice: Pirates slipped in the swing when it all had to be decided

For the first time since 2019, Aalborg Pirates are not part of a DM final series. It is clear after a defeat in the seventh and decisive semi-final against Esbjerg Energy.

As a result, the pirates failed to complete the comeback that they were well on their way to making after two victories in the last matches, where they have otherwise had their backs against the wall.

It quickly became clear that Esbjerg was the most dangerous team. It was really brushed off when the West Jutland got a power play after sloppy Pirates play in their own zone.

With his 1-0 scoring, Andreas Grundtvig sent Aalborg a good distance closer to the hated bronze medal match and Esbjerg closer to the final.

The impression of a pirate ship on a tottering course was only reinforced at the beginning of the second period. The mirror had barely disappeared from the ice when Josh Winquist made it 2-0 13 seconds into the second period.

In the following minutes, there were disintegration tendencies in the home team’s defence. However, Esbjerg failed to put the decisive blow into a very groggy opponent despite several very close attempts.

Aalborg got their first power play midway through the second period, but as so often before this season, it was as toothless as a newborn infant. In the wake of the advantage period, however, there were a few good Pirates opportunities, but that did not really change the impression of an Esbjerg team that found it much easier to find goals in the offensive zone.

The pirates seemed to have lost the compass direction towards the Esbjerg goal. In any case, you were very happy to skate around with the puck along the sideline when you had established yourself in Esbjerg’s zone. It rarely became dangerous. The contrast was the West Jutland visits to the Aalborg end, which often caused worried sighs among the home team’s fans.

Aalborg came out to the third period with some of that desperation, which should be a minimum in the situation they had found themselves in. There was more pace in the home team’s skating, but Esbjerg wisely took the pressure off the Aalborg pressure, and instead it was again the visitors who came close to scoring the third goal of the match.

Very symptomatically, Pirates never found a way to seriously challenge Mathias Seldrup in the Esbjerg goal. As the minutes passed, the effort became more and more aimless from the defeated champion team. That Esbjerg scored 0-3 in an empty goal at the end of the game seemed in many ways like a natural punctuation mark.

The best performance of the day was undoubtedly the Pirates’ fans. They tactfully clapped the heroes off the ice despite the lackluster effort.

With the defeat, Aalborg Pirates now have a couple of bronze matches against Herning Blue Fox.

Aalborg Pirates – Esbjerg Energy 0-3

Ice hockey, Metalligaen
7. DM semi-final
Periodecifre: 0-1, 0-1, 0-1
Goals: 0-1 Andreas Grundtvig (17.45), 0-2 Josh Winquist (20.13), 0-3 Philip Schultz (59.01)
Sent-off minutes: Aalborg 8, Esbjerg 4
Spectators: 4860
Thus, Esbjerg is ready for the DM final series.

It was a setback for the North Jutland pirates in the semi-final series against Esbjerg. A defeat of 0-3 sent the North Jutland out of the fight for the Danish championship in ice hockey. Photo: Lars Pauli
Photo: Lars Pauli