Ilves’ second goalkeeper Jakub Malek freely celebrated the victory in front of the home crowd. According to Urheilu’s expert Jesse Saarinen, Tampere’s game is not yet at a level sufficient for the championship.
When Ilves celebrated a victory in the fourth semi-final of the hockey SM league, attention was drawn to Jakub Malek. The Czech goalkeeper threw himself towards the supporters’ end, got up, received his audience with applause and celebrated the victory by throwing himself in front of his supporters again.
Before the match, it was the goalkeeper situation that caused uncertainty for Ilves. The number one goalkeeper, the number one goalkeeper in the SM league regular season, Marek Langhamer was sidelined for the second time in a row.
In their previous match, Ilves did not lose a game because of Malek, but the save percentage of 82.35 and the three goals conceded hardly gave the best confidence for Saturday’s struggle.
– Malek’s release after the game caught my eye. This was a big game. All the games have ended 3–2, so the goalkeepers have a pretty big role, Urheilu’s expert Jesse Saarinen reminded.
Malek made a few important saves in the fight. In total, he made 20 saves.
– He takes those moments in the end stand with him. He hasn’t been able to do that too many times in the regular season, and now he got that experience in the playoffs. He goes into the locker room as a celebrated hero and that gives a better starting point for the next game.
The fourth semifinal was challenging for Ilves. The Pelicans had time to run away in the second set to a 2–0 lead. The lynx’s stiffness just broke by Les Lancaster After 1–2 reduction. The last set was controlled by the people of Tampere.
– However, they surely understand that the game with five against five is not as a whole close to what it should be, if they intend to win the trophy from this league.
Can the Pelicans fly?
The match wins in the semifinal series are tied 2–2 after four games, so the duo will play at least six matches. Saarinen reminds that Ilves played a slightly shorter quarter-final series, when Pelicans played seven games against KalPa.
– Pelicans started pretty straight from the tight KalPa series to this one. Often the energy starts to show itself only at this point. When energy and physics are sufficient, there will be no game-changing stupid solutions either. It is often linked to not being able to be that sharp.
– If Ilves is able to continue like this, then the demands of the game will also increase and that will be a heavy burden for the Pelicans.
Will Ilves’ number one chain wake up?
Towards the end of the series, the eyes are also fixed on the star players. The Pelicans have received a lot of support from their star players in the playoffs, but Ilves’ first chain has still had a lot to do.
Golden helmet Petri Kontiola has scored 1+3 in nine matches and Henrik Haapala 1+1. The duo’s power statistic is -3. Kontiola’s pain was especially visible in Pelicans’ 1–0 goal, when he left the field after words of strength.
– You can see it from his body language that he is not satisfied. Now it was still seen that Pennanen’s choice for the last two superpowers was aimed at Mäntykivi, not Kontiola’s chain. It is also a message for an experienced top player.
However, Saarinen believes that this will push the konkar to improve his grips. Kontiola wants to be a decisive and hot player in the future, so that the coach sees that he must be put on the field.
However, in order for the stars to succeed, the entire team’s game must be on track.
– No one changes that rhythm alone, it’s a joint thing. Individual players stand out when the team plays well.
The semi-finals of the SM league continue after the break on Monday, when Tappara and HIFK meet from 17:00. The series between Ilves and Pelicans continues on Tuesday in Tampere from 18:30. Puhe’s Ice Hockey Tour follows the matches. The broadcast starts 15 minutes before the match.