Västerås wins 2015 bandy title
There’s a new saying running around the bandy world: "You can’t stop Västerås. You can only hope to contain them.”
Västerås SK won its 19th Swedish bandy title March 14, knocking off 2014 champs Sandviken AIK 6-4 in the final in front of more than 15,000 fans at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm. Västerås has the most titles in bandy in Swedish history, although its last title came six years ago. Västerås made sure it would not have to wait any longer for its next crown as it dominated the game from the onset.
Västerås playmakers John Esplund and Andreas Bergenwall controlled the center of the ice, giving Sandviken little choice but to pack its defensive third and try counterattacking. The tactic worked for 17 minutes when Esplund helped break open the game. He set up Tobias Holmberg to give VSK a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Esplund again played provider, setting up Mikael Olsson to give Västerås a 2-0 lead. Esplund joined the scoring, nothing like a goal at the half-hour mark to put VSK up 3-0.
Sandviken tried to answer, with Erik Säfström and Daniel Mossberg, SAIK’s most dangerous players on the ice. Västerås, however, held defensively and it took until just before half-time when SAIK reduced the lead when Patrik Nilsson scored off a corner.
In the second half Sandviken crept ever closer, as Säfström and Mossberg again scored, with Säfström scoring a spectacular goal after faking out VSK goalie Andreas Bergenwall. Västerås, however, recovered from the score and when Janne Rintala scored to make it 6-4, the players and fans all celebrated on the ice.

Basketball quarters
The Swedish Basketligan quarterfinals opened March 17 with three of the top four seeds recording home victories. Croatian forward Tony Bizaca poured in 21 points to lead top-seeded Södertälje to an 80-72 win over No. 8 seed Nässjö. Södertälje overcame a three-point halftime deficit, outscoring Nässjö 44-33 in the second half to win the game. Dartaye Ruffin, who played for Drexel University, had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Nässjö.
Second seed Borås breezed past Solna 91-61 in its opener thanks to a 24-4 second-quarter run. Christopher McKnight, an Akron University product, had 18 points and 10 rebounds to pace Borås. He was one of five Borås players to score in double figures. Western Washington standout Michael Palm had 19 points to lead all scorers.
No. 3 seed Norrköping held off Uppsala 77-72 to take the opening game of the series. American forward Dominique Wilson, an ORU product, had 20 points to lead Norrköping while Joakim Kjellbom, who played collegiately for Northern Arizona State, had 16 points and 11 rebounds. A pair of Marquette University players led Uppsala as Olouma Nnamaja had 15 points and 5 rebounds while Dwight Burke had 11 points and 8 boards.
Sundsvall used a 23-10 third-quarter spurt to get past LF Basket 77-70. Sundsvall, the No. 5 seed, got 16 points and 16 boards from former Kansas State star Akeem Wright. Jonathan Person led LF with 15 points.
The quarterfinals are a best-of-5 series and continued on March 20.

Innebandy quarters
The Elitserien of innebandy — also called floorball — entered its second season March 11 as Helsingborg and Pixbo Wallenstam opened the quarterfinals. Helsingborg came away with a 6-5 overtime victory. Anders Lindberg scored the game winner after Helsingborg squandered a 5-2 third-period lead. Lindberg had two goals in the game. Daniel Celebsson had three goals for Wallenstam. In Game 2, Wallenstam came out swinging and notched a 5-4 win. Celebsson had a pair of goals to lead Wallenstam while Linus Nordgren scored all four goals for Helsingborg, including three in the third period as Helsingborg tried to rally from a 5-1 deficit. In Game 3 on March 16, Mika Moilanen scored in overtime to give Helsingborg a 5-4 win. The two teams traded goals throughout regulation, with Nordgren tying the game at 18:26 of the third period to force the overtime.
Linköping holds a 2-1 series lead over Warberg in its quarterfinal series as Linköping won Games 1 and 3. Linköping won the opener 5-4 before dropping a 5-3 decision to Warberg. In Game 3 on March 16, Tobias Gustafsson scored at 4:12 of overtime to lift Helsingborg to a 3-2 win. Helsingborg opened a 2-0 first-period but Warberg came back to tie the game in the second session. The teams played a scoreless third period, forcing overtime.
Falun holds a 2-1 series edge over IK Sirius in what is the highest-scoring series in the quarters. Falun won 9-3 in Game 1 on March 13 as seven different players scored, with Emil Johansson picking up a pair of goals. Sirius bounced back in Game 2, taking a 6-1 victory with Peter Berlin scoring twice for Sirius. On March 17, Falun took Game 3, posting an 8-0 whitewash behind a pair of goals from Rasmus Enstrom.
The fourth quarterfinal pits Växjö against Mullsjö, with Växjö holding a 2-1 series lead. Växjö took Game 1 with a 4-2 win as Johan Roos and Andre Eriksson had a brace. Växjö won Game 2 as Jesper Sankell scored with just 36 seconds left in regulation for a 6-5 win. Sankell had a pair of goals in the game. Mullsjö took Game 3 on March 17, as seven different players scored in a 7-3 victory.