Icebreakers - the follow-up

I wrote about the charity team Icebreakers in my posts about Peter Forsberg and I thought that it was time to do a follow-up on how it went in the two games the team played this week.

On the Tuesday, they played against SEL team Luleå. Luleå is predicted to finish around the bottom of the SEL this upcoming season and some of their better players weren't playing in the game, so the 11-4 win for the Icebreakers didn't come as a surprise. Forsberg actually ended up being the best scorer in the game with 3 goals and 1 assists, while Vancouver's Mattias Öhlund and Washington's Nicklas Bäckström both had a 3-point game.

I haven't found much info about the Icebreakers game in Turku, Finland, the day after. The challenge they would take on there was a lot harder though as they played a team called the Läkerol Dark Allstars filled with NHLers. Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, Montreal's Saku Koivu and Stanley Cup Champion Valtteri Filppula were some of the players on the team and they were actually coached by Mike Keenan.

The only thing I know about the result is that the game ended 5-5 and that the Icebreakers won the shootout which followed.

The Icebreakers also visited and donated toys to children's hospitals in Luleå and Turku during their visits to the cities.

Some links of interest:

• The rosters of LDA and Icebreakers.
• Pictures from the LDA-Icebreakers game.
• The blog of 10-year-old Marcus, who got to drop the puck in the Luleå-Icebreakers game.
• Pictures from the Luleå-Icebreakers game here and here.

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More on Foppa

As I wrote earlier today, Peter Forsberg will play in an exhibition game with his charity hockey team, the Icebreakers, tonight. After some more investigation, I found an interview with Foppa in the newspaper Expressen, where he talks about it and the foot injury. The article also mentions that he will play another game with the Icebreakers on Wednesday.

- I will do an evaluation after these two games with the Icebreakers and see where I stand, says Foppa.

He practiced on ice with the other NHL players in Swedbank Arena in Örnsköldsvik yesterday. But Foppa will not travel to Luleå today with just one ice practice under the belt.

- Well I practiced on ice here in Örnsköldsvik on Friday and Saturday too, he says.

And how does it feel?
Pretty good actually.

Does this mean there is a chance you will be back in the NHL before Christmas?
I don't want to speculate about that. I'm in close contact with my doctor, Bertil Romanus, in Gothenburg and we only take it one step at a time.

But you sound more optimistic than a couple of weeks ago?
- I have no trouble with skating, but we don't know yet how the foot will react under hard pressure. As said, first I want to evaluate these two games and then we will see how the continued training will look like.

You will continue with special training program?
- Yes, I will continue working after those guidelines and the training program we started in May.

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Forsberg's playing hockey tonight

One of the ongoing discussions last season was Peter Forsberg and his feet - would he play or retire? Eventually he did play and showed that he still got a lot of hockey in him, but injuries - as usual - made him for example miss most of the playoff series against Detroit.

Tonight he's taking his first step towards another season as he will play an exhibition game against SEL team Luleå with his charity team, the Icebreakers. This will be his first test since the NHL playoffs.

He's doctor, Bertil Romanus, says to the newspaper DN that physically, Forsberg is ready to play. It's how it will go in on-ice situations that they are unsure about.

Here is the roster of the Icebreakers in the game against Luleå tonight:

Goalies
Michal Zajkowski, MODO
Johan Backlund, Timrå

Defensemen
Mattias Timander, MODO
Hans Jonsson, MODO
Tobias Enström, Atlanta Thrashers
Pierre Hedin, MODO
Alexander Edler, Vancouver Canucks
Douglas Murray, San Jose Sharks
Mattias Öhlund, Vancouver Canucks

Forwards
Per Svartvadet, MODO
Alexander Steen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Niklas Sundström, MODO
Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche
Markus Näslund, New York Rangers
Samuel Påhlsson, Anaheim Ducks
Nicklas Bäckström, Washington Capitals
Fredrik Modin, Columbus Blue Jackets
Jonathan Hedström, Timrå
Robert Nilsson, Edmonton Oilers
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Joakim Lindström, Anaheim Ducks
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