Kiekko-Espoo defeated Ketterä 4–2 in the final series of hockey Mesti. In the sixth final match, the decision came only in the overtime.
Kiekko-Espoo has won the ice hockey Mesti championship. The people from Espoo defeated Imatra Ketterä in the sixth final 4–3.
Like the previous finals, the sixth final match was also extremely tight. A minute before the end, it looked like Ketterä was about to extend the series to the seventh game. The people of Espoo were looking for an equalizing goal without a goalkeeper, and the power man of the people of Espoo stepped up Janne Hämäläinenwho hit the puck in the net in 59.06.
In the end, he became the hero of the people of Espoo Anton Ollikainen, who answered the 4–3 winning goal in 61.36.
The people from Espoo won the final series 4–2. This is the first Mestis championship in the history of Kiekko-Espoo.
Ketterä has won three previous championships.
Crazy final series
There was no shortage of drama in the final series between Ketterä and Kiekko-Espoo. On Wednesday, Ketterä already led the fifth final match in Espoo 3–0, but the Espoo team won 4–3 in the end.
Ketterä went into the final set with two goals in the lead, but in the final set the people of Espoo struck three times. The winning goal came just three seconds before the end.
The people of Espoo started the series with a 2–0 win, but Ketterä took the next two meetings. Saturday’s third final match ended very dramatically in the second overtime in front of more than 5,000 spectators, when a player from Espoo passed the puck into his own empty goal.
However, the people from Espoo acknowledged the loss in the very next match and won the next three matches.
A return to the SM league?
Kiekko-Espoo won the championship with Mesti’s regular season record points. The people of Espoo collected 122 points.
The defenders from Espoo also set new records. Atro Leppänen set the record for points and goals for Mestis defenders (23+35=58) and Aleksi Matinmikko was responsible for the defenders’ assists record (13+40=53).
The Espoo audience has also been able to enjoy the pike addiction for a long time.
Kiekko-Espoo is looking for a return to the men’s main league and will submit a league license application in October.
– The financial side is the biggest area as long as the series system is current. We have already proven the other areas, CEO of Kiekko-Espoo Aku Kallonen commented to Urheilu on Wednesday.
Mesti’s 6th final match Ketterä–Kiekko-Espoo 3–4
06.17 Jarkko Harjula 1–0
12.45 Tommi Huhtala 1–1
15.32 Samu Tuomaala 2–1
33.11 Joona Tamminen 2–2
51.24 Jesse Viskari 3–2
59.06 Janne Hämäläinen 3–3 IM
61.36 Anton Ollikainen 3–4