The Oslo Vikings (2-4) and AIK (1-5) will do battle in Oslo, Norway in the final game of the regular season for both teams in the Swedish Superserien.
The game has huge playoff implications for both teams.
The Vikings are on a two-game winning streak after opening the season with four straight losses.
Oslo suffered a 56-37 loss to the Tyresö Royal Crowns in Oslo in their season opener and then were beaten by the Örebro Black Knights 31-19 in Örebro. They suffered a 41-8 defeat at the hands of the Carlstad Crusaders but then pushed the Mean Machines but lost 34-21. They earned their first win May 11 when they beat the Kristianstad Predators 35-28 and they followed that up by whipping the Limhamn Griffins 39-0 two weeks ago.
AIK is coming off a 21-7 loss to the Örebro Black Knights last week which followed a 42-7 loss to the Stockholm Mean Machines. AIK gave up a late touchdown plus the two-point conversion to the Kristianstad Predators in their first game of the season to lose 21-20. However, they atoned for the loss by beating the Limhamn Griffins 15-8. But they then suffered two straight lopsided losses after the Carlstad Crusaders pummeled them 42-0, the Tyresö Royal Crowns beat them 35-7 and the Mean Machines handed them a 42-7 loss.
Still they have a chance to reach the playoffs. But it will depend not only on the outcome of this game but also the game between the Limhamn Griffins and Kristianstad Predators.
Let’s examine the playoff implications.
The winner of the Oslo-AIK game moves on. However, if Oslo loses, and Kristianstad beats Limhamn, AIK, Oslo and Kristianstad all finish with a record of 2-5, or four points. Then it’s the points for and against between the three that determines which two of the three advances. In that case, Oslo is +7, AIK -1 and Kristianstad -6 before the game between Oslo and AIK. If AIK wins by a margin of one to three points over Oslo then both teams advanct but Oslo finishes one spot ahead of AIK in the standings. If AIK wins by four points, both teams finish with the same number of points and Oslo still finishes ahead based on the total points difference. If AIK wins by between five and 13 points, AIK finishes fifth and Oslo sixth. If AIK wins by 14 points or more, Oslo misses the playoffs and Kristianstad grabs the final playoff berth provided they have beaten Limhamn. Now if Limhamn beats Kristianstad and Oslo defeats AIK, Limhamn moves on. In the event that AIK and Limhamn win their games, AIK, Oslo and Limhamn are all tied with four points eachand then again, the points differential between the three teams is the determining factor. AIK is +4 in the games between the three and Oslo +2 while Limhamn is 0 which means that AIK would leapfrog Oslo in the standings and Limhamn would miss the playoffs.
Whew.
Needless to say, both teams will be battling to the end but the Vikings are playing at home in Norway. The edge goes to Oslo.