Three straight wins are three straight wins. We should not talk them down. Yet ahead of the trip to MoDo, one question remains hard to shake: can either of IK's goaltenders give us a little more composure — and a little more hope?
Wednesday's game starts at 19:00 local time at Hägglunds Arena. IK arrive after wins against Nybro, Almtuna and Kalmar. Now we want more than another way to outscore the opposition. We want an IK side we can trust when its game starts to falter.
Who gives us a reassuring night?
Emil Vuorio finished on the winning side against Kalmar. In our view, he also won the goaltending battle. Even so, the derby did not leave us feeling that IK's goaltending questions had been answered. Outperforming the goalies at the other end is one thing. Giving your own team a dependable foundation is another.
This is not a demand for Vuorio or Axel Nyman to post a shutout in Örnsköldsvik. Nor should every goal conceded become a referendum on who should start. What we are looking for is simpler: the saves that should be made, control of rebounds and something extra when IK really need it.
A save after a bad shift can give five skaters the chance to reset. A sequence of assured interventions can settle an entire team. That would mean plenty to those of us watching from the stands or at home.
The starting goaltender against MoDo has not been confirmed in the material used for this preview. Whoever gets the chance, we want to discuss him as a reason to believe in the next game — not merely another question ahead of it.
Three return, two leave — but is the defence stronger?
According to IK's squad update on 19 October, Ville Jonsson, Ludvig Markman and Ludvig Georgsson are available again for the MoDo game. Pontus Näsén remains out under the same update. Alexander Younan is leaving, while Björklöven have recalled Anton Malmström.
Having more regular defencemen available is welcome. But this is not a simple exchange in which three returning players automatically outweigh two departures. In our assessment, Malmström and Younan have added both quality and experience. IK now need to establish working roles without them as three players return from absences.
We are not putting invented defensive pairings on paper. What matters is how the coaches distribute responsibility. Who makes the first pass under pressure? Who offers his defensive partner an easy option? And how quickly can the returning players find the right spacing, timing and decisions?
Against Kalmar, we saw recurring problems getting out of the defensive zone. That provides a concrete test against MoDo. The first pass does not have to be spectacular. It needs to make the next situation easier, rather than leaving the next player with the same problem and less time.
The goalie and the defence need to help each other
It is possible to demand more from the goaltending and from the team in front. Those demands are not contradictory.
The defencemen need support from the forwards on the breakout. The space in front of the net needs protecting, rebounds need clearing and dangerous lateral passes need limiting. But when the structure breaks down anyway, someone at the back needs to make the save. Not everything can be explained away by defensive play, just as not everything can be blamed on the goalie.
That is our expectation ahead of MoDo. Not a promise of a perfect night, or a demand for one player to fix everything. We want the returning defencemen to make IK more cohesive, the remaining players to take responsibility as Malmström and Younan depart, and the goalie entrusted with the start to give us something to build on.
Three straight wins have given us points. Now we want some reassurance too.
Game: MoDo Hockey–IK Oskarshamn, Wednesday 21 October 2026, 19:00 Swedish local time, Hägglunds Arena.
GLID INTE supporter analysis. Squad information is based on IK's 19 October update; this article does not confirm the starting goalie or defensive pairings. Assessments of the play are our own.