Tampere’s Tappara is the men’s Finnish ice hockey champion for the year 2023.
Tappara beat Pelicans 5–4 in the fifth final played in Tampere on Thursday. Finished the decisive goal of the match Marcus Davidson in the overtime. Tappara won the final match series 4–1.
Watch the match winning goal from the tweet below or from this link (you will go to another service).
The championship was decided in a great way.
In the third period, the Pelicans were close to victory Aatu Jämsenin on the finish line. Tappara frantically searched for an equalizer without a goalkeeper, but it was already starting to look like the Tampere team would not be successful in their pursuit.
Then Brother Matti Savinainen struck. An experienced striker guided Valtteri Kemläinen shot on the Pelicans’ goal.
There was one second left on the game clock.
Savinainen’s goal can be seen in the tweet below or from this link (you will go to another service).
There were enough dramatic phases in the match even before this. The Pelicans rallied from three goals down to level and over, but it wasn’t enough.
Tappara won its second consecutive Finnish championship.
– Really great experienced leading players, a top goalkeeper, a united team and a strong need to achieve, Tappara’s head coach Jussi Tapola summed up the recipe for success.
– It’s been a great trip. Especially this season. It has been great to be involved in this environment, said the golden helmet Jori Lehterä35, who won the first Finnish championship of his career.
A five-goal opening set
The opening set of the match was the most entertaining puck of the final series – at least if the number of goals is considered to be correlated with entertainment.
The teams forged no less than five goals in the quarter.
At the beginning, however, it seemed that Tappara was going his way. Anton Levtchi, Christian Tanus and Casimir Jürgens gave the home team a 3–0 lead in just seven and a half minutes.
The Pelicans had to react. First keeper Patrik Bartosak was taken out of the goal and skated instead Jasper Patrikainen.
At this point, the guests from Lahti woke up. Tapparan Marcus Davidson started by taking a two-minute penalty for whining, and the Pelicans Topias Vilén struck with the superiority of the narrowing.
Ben Blood already brought Pelicans within reach of the goal in 14:41.
Levels and beyond
In the second period, the Pelicans showed a model of playing in special situations. First, the team solved two inferior forces, after which it was the turn of the superior force.
The Pelicans Iikka Kangasniemi scored a 3-3 equalizer at the end of the second period, when Tapparan Jürgens sat on the ice. Miika to Roine excellent mask playing in that situation deserves a mention.
In the third period, Pelicans took a 4–3 lead with Jämsen’s goal. Pelicans won the puck in the middle area, got to attack two on one and Jämsen hit the puck in the goal with a direct shot Konsta Hirvonen input.
Tappara strikes
An ice hockey match lasts 60 minutes per second, as Tappara testified. Savinainen’s equalizer came at the last moment, even though there were chances earlier.
In the third period, Tappara ran a continuous period of several minutes in the end of the Pelicans, but goalkeeper Patrikainen lasted a long time.
Savinainen was needed, who was chosen as the best player of the playoffs.
Savinainen guided Kemilainen’s shot into the net. Moments before the goal, he hit Pelicans goalkeeper Patrikainen with his stick, which is why the goal was checked on video. According to the judges, there was no interference with the goalkeeper in the situation.
In the extra set, Swedish striker Davidsson scored the deciding goal in 68.57.
Davidsson punched into the goal the loose puck following Casimir Jürgens’ shot. Got the second assist point in the goal Niko Ojamäki.
In recent years, Tappara has been consistently successful in the ice hockey SM league. The team has won four Finnish championships in the last ten seasons.
Tappara has also played at least ten times in a row in the semi-finals of the SM league.
– The players want to come to Tappara and develop. Some want to advance in their career and some want to win. We want players here who are ready to do the work to win, Savinainen comments on the secret of Tappara’s success.
Next season, Tappara enters a new era, when the successful coach Tapola, who won four championships, leaves his position.
The new head coach will be a Swede Rikard Grönborg.