The women of TPS were superior. Now the men’s final series turned in favor of TPS in a fairytale way. After a long, rewarding work, a big rebuild begins, writes journalist Vinski Virtanen.
– In my case, it was probably the last seam to win the series, captain of TPS Miko Kailiala said Ruudu in an interview when he had just lifted the championship trophy Lauri Stenforsin and Mikko Hautniemi with.
The goal that decided the championship went to just the right man, when Hautaniemi was typically in just the right place to flick Olli Laine sent the ball into the net. The incredible-looking attacking colossus could not have ended his career more spectacularly. The last touch on the ball was the first championship goal in club history.
What sports romance, as Hautaniemi himself shaped.
Stenfors, who ended his national team career, said on television that he is keeping the possibility of quitting open, but the continuation of his club career still seems more likely. It just won’t continue with Hautaniemi and Kailiala, which is heading abroad.
In addition to Kailiala, also Ville Hirvisuo continue his career abroad. Of the more than 200 goals scored in the regular season by the Turku players, about half went to the aforementioned players.
Such a gap and the departure of core players is practically impossible to fix. New times are waiting for the ball club. Nokian KrP already led the final series with 3–1 wins, and the odds were on the side that these TPS core players would not be able to bring the club its first championship after all.
The icons did not waste the opportunity. Classic’s dynasty also beat TPS in the finals in previous years, but finally it was TPS’s turn. KrP offered great resistance and would have almost as well deserved the gold. The match pair was even from the regular season to the finals, and this time one goal was the difference.
Without disrespecting the people of Nokia, now is finally the right time for the people of Turku to win gold.
The age group of the club born in 1986 took the first medal of the black and white family when it celebrated the C-juniors SM bronze. In TPS juniors, it has even been expected since then that “Tepsi” always plays for medals.
The club is the overwhelming number one in its region and, supported by its rich sports history, is also a nationally respected factor – also in floorball, even though the success of the junior side had not been transferred to the adults.
The circles of TPS, like the rest of the floorball community, are small compared to many other sports, and you may have bumped into the same faces in the halls for a long time.
The gold won by the ball club is a championship built together by both the current players and all TPS floorball backgrounders, which has been honed by the people of Tepsi from the Virusmäentie floorball arena to the current Kupitta ball hall. TPS fresh champions have been honed from one age group to another on the legendary steps of Kuuvuuori.
In Turku, sports success at the men’s level has long since relied on the achievements of the ice hockey and soccer sides, but finally indoor bandy also got what it deserved. The holeball players returned to the sports city at least some of the glory that shone from the former gold leaves of the logo.
It is likely that the TPS men will not be the number one favorites to win the championship in the following seasons, but right now Turku is the capital of Finnish floorball.
The women’s TPS championship was already so clear in the middle of the season that in the west coast city, they even joked, in the traditional Turku way, that the women could lose one match on purpose, so that the championship flag would not be raised after the away game, but right at home in Turku.
Turku is the place where the A-junior hockey championship final gathers almost 11,000 spectators, i.e. Artukainen’s big hockey arena is full, if it has been a little quieter in the city in terms of success.
Turku has earned its floorball champion, and it’s okay to be a little proud of such a great double gold season.
The author is a former TPS floorball junior.