Storhamar returned to a 4-2 victory over Vålerenga at a packed Jordal amphitheater and can secure the NM title in ice hockey in their own hall on Tuesday.
After the first away win of the final series, Storhamar leads 3-1 in the best of seven games and has three attempts to take the fourth and decisive victory.
Storhamar got off to a flying start in the fourth game when Martin Rønnild scored after just 33 seconds, but it was Vålerenga who could go to the first break with a lead.
First, Oskar Ekelund was beautifully played forward by back-mate Stian Solberg, and from close range he scored 1-1 after 14.15.
– I give that assist ten out of ten points, said Solberg to TV 2 during the break.
It was then 2-1, after Tommy Olsen converted an extra play into a score five seconds before the end of the period. He slammed the puck into the goal via the crossbar while Peter Quenneville was sent off for holding.
Succeeded with frekkis
Storhamar also started the middle period strongly, and only 1.05 minutes had been played when super veteran Patrick Thoresen equalised. He got the puck behind the Vålerenga goal and succeeded with a cheeky move when he scored from a dead angle via Vålerenga goalkeeper Tobias Breivold.
The visitors unleashed the first five shots on goal in the period and secured a strong advantage in the shot statistics, but the team had to dig deep to ride out a three-on-five game when Andreas Martinsen and Jacob Berglund, well in the middle of the period, incurred two minutes with an interval of half a minute.
Terrific job
40-year-old Patrick Thoresen did a great job in the undercount and was also about to score on a counterattack while the opponent had two more players.
In the last minute of the period, Storhamar succeeded in a counterattack when Solberg lost the puck in a dangerous position. Quenneville scored the 3-2 goal on a pass from Eirik Salsten.
Storhamar choked Vålerenga in the last period, and the home team only had three shots on goal in that period.
Vålerenga took out goalkeeper Breivold and played six against five towards the end, but did not get any chances until Storhamar captured the puck and Martinsen could determine the result in an empty cage.
(©NTB)