2003–04 Eliteserien season

The 2003–04 Eliteserien season ended with Storhamar Dragons claiming their fifth Norwegian title after defeating Vålerenga in double overtime in game 7. Michael Smithurst scored the game winner nearly two minutes into the second extra period in front of 7,405 spectators.^[1]

Regular season

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season.^[2]

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Jari Kesti	Stavanger Oilers	40	26	37	63	+31	40
Tommy Kiviaho	Frisk Tigers	41	27	27	54	+23	20
Ilya Dubkov	Trondheim Black Panthers	42	32	21	53	+29	70
Tomi Suoniemi	Stavanger Oilers	40	20	25	45	+17	20
Teemu Kohvakka	Stavanger Oilers	41	18	27	45	+5	80
Tom Erik Olsen	Storhamar Dragons	40	28	16	44	+32	18
Patric Englund	Vålerenga	40	21	23	44	+23	20
Lars Erik Spets	Lillehammer	40	28	15	43	−10	12
Morten Bakkene	Stavanger Oilers	41	23	20	43	+19	18
Jan Morten Dahl	Trondheim Black Panthers	40	10	31	41	+20	147

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the conclusion of the regular season.^[3]

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Jonas Bertil Norgren	Storhamar Dragons	22	1,285:41	-	-	34	6	92.34	1.59
Tommy Lund	Vålerenga	29	1,736:29	-	-	61	5	91.13	2.11
Henrik Smångs	Sparta Warriors	29	1,807:55	-	-	84	1	90.75	2.79
Halvor Hårstad-Evjen	Frisk Tigers	28	1,568:52	-	-	61	2	90.72	2.33
Rolf Joakim Wiberg	Trondheim Black Panthers	41	2,428:22	-	-	89	5	90.65	2.20

GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Playoffs

After the regular season, the new standard of eight teams qualified for the playoffs. In the first round, the two highest remaining seeds were drawn against the two lowest remaining seeds; in the second round, the highest remaining seed was drawn against one of the two lowest. In each round the higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage, giving them a possible maximum of three home games as opposed to the lower-seeded team's possible maximum of two. Each best-of-five series followed a 1–2–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team played at home for games 2 and 3 (plus 5 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team at home for games 1 and 4 (if necessary).^[4]

The final was contested between the Storhamar Dragons and Vålerenga for the second consecutive year. In 2003, the championship had been decided in four straight games when Vålerenga won 4–0 to claim their 22nd title and 18th "double". As in the previous season, the 2004 final was played as a best-of-seven series following a 1–1–1–2–1–1 format. Storhamar, as league champions, were seeded first and played at home for games 2, 4, 5 and 7.^[4] They took the lead after winning the first game 2–1 in overtime, but failed to capitalize, losing their first home game 0–4. The third and fourth games were both won by the home side. Game 5 saw Vålerenga achieve an away win in overtime to lead the series 3–2, but Storhamar came back to claim another overtime victory in Oslo and force a seventh, championship deciding game at Hamar OL-Amfi. A record 7,405 spectators turned out for the first game 7 in the history of the Norwegian Championship, in which Storhamar's Michael Smithurst scored the winning goal after 21 minutes and 54 seconds of overtime.^[5][6]

Qualifying for UPC-ligaen 2004–05

References

External links

• Official website (in Norwegian)