The regular season of the ice hockey championship league, which ended on Saturday, was a severe disappointment for Oulu Kärpi. Kärpät suffered a 2–6 loss to Jukurei in the final round and was eliminated from the top six.
Lauri Marjamäki the millionaire team has to start the playoffs right from the first round, when Kouvola’s KooKoo arrives on Monday as a guest in Oulu’s Raksila. The spirit of the game is raw, because already on Tuesday either Kärppie or KooKoo’s season is interrupted.
– A massive disappointment. One of the biggest bangs that has happened in the SM league in the last 15 years. When you look at the Kärppi’s investments in the team and coaching, they should have been somewhere else, Urheilu’s expert Top Nättinen evaluate.
– Kärpät was even saved a little by starting the season as the second goalkeeper Leevi Meriläinen raised its level when Joel Blomqvist got hurt. Meriläinen even played that ranking for Kärpi.
The pack of flies is pretty messed up and there isn’t much time for repairs when the playoffs start already on Monday.
– Kärpät is completely lost game-wise and looks like a very soulless team. I don’t even know how to move on from this. The first round of the playoffs will be really difficult for them, Nättinen predicts.
HIFK’s autumn is dead-end, a dizzying rush in the spring season
HIFK was close to a stomach-churning match like the Kärppie, but in the final round of the regular season, they made it to the top six. Thus, HIFK continues directly to the quarter-finals and challenges Rauma Luko, third in the regular season.
– HIFK’s start of the season was the worst in the club’s history in the era of three-point victories. The first 31 matches produced only 38 points. HIFK found scoring efficiency before and after the Spengler Cup at the turn of the year, Topi Nättinen summed up.
– Roope Taponen became the number one goalkeeper for good. Niilo Halonen too got a chance but failed miserably. In addition, HIFK’s top individuals Kristian Vesalainen, Iiro Pakarinen, Eetu Koivistoinen and Julius Nättinen raised their level.
– HIFK was the last team to reach the quarter-finals, but it is still a disappointment for such a big club. They should have fought for home advantage, Nättinen pointed out.
Will Tappara and Ilves’ dream final come true?
Tampere teams Tappara and Ilves dominated the regular season of the SM league. The dream final between Tappara and Ilves looks very likely to be the climax of the season right now.
– A really expected result, that Tappara and Ilves took the top spots in the regular season. It’s a really good question how any team could beat Tappara or Ilves four times. I believe in Tappara a little more than Ilve, their experience and routine are even more valuable than Ilve’s, Nättinen compared.
So will the league season end with the final matches of Tappara and Ilves?
– At the moment, I can’t see anything other than Tappara and Ilves playing in the finals. It would be great in terms of sports romance if the final series stretched to seven matches.
HPK’s Michael Joly number one in the points exchange
HPK’s Canadian striker Michael Joly conquered the points market of the SM league regular season. Joly played all 60 fights with power points of 25+39 = 64.
– Joly scored more than 60 points and was therefore involved in more than 40 percent of HPK’s goals. Joly was the single biggest reason why HPK even fought for a place in the playoffs, Nättinen estimates.
JYP’s Canadian striker Reid Gardiner took the goal exchange victory. Gardiner forged 27 hits, while runner-up Joly hit 25 times.
– It’s a somewhat confusing statistic that the goal exchange was won by a player who was in a team that was out of the playoffs, Nättinen thought.
Ilves’ everything was a check guard Marek Langhamer. He was the best goalkeeper in the regular season in terms of save percentage. Langhamer glued pucks with a save percentage of 92.51.
– Ilves needs a winning top goalkeeper, and I think Langhamer is the best goalkeeper in the SM league. That could be a turning point against Tapparaak, Nättinen believed.