Ilves conquered Tampere on Friday in Tampere by beating crisis team Tappara. Sami Niku, who moved to Ilves earlier in the week, registered his first power point with the club.
Tapparaa can with good reason be called the crisis team of the SM league after Friday. The reigning champion, who lost nine of his eleven previous matches, was not able to perform at his best even against local rival llve on Friday night. Tappara went from a 1–0 lead to a clear 2–5 defeat. At the same time, behind Tappara, hot-tempered Jukurit has already risen to within two points
Ilves’ league lead is now seven points. Tappara has played three matches less than Ilves.
Ilves’ hero on Friday night had hit a hat trick Oula Palve, who has disciplined Tappara throughout the season before. Palve has scored 5+4 in five local matches. Jani Nyman and Petr Kodytek accompanied the hero of the evening with power 1+1.
Tappara’s key players were not seen in the front row on Friday either. Anton Levtchi, Brother Matti Savinainen, Christian Tanus, Valtteri Kemiläinen and so on – the entire Tappara team was a uniform gray mass. Champion goalkeeper Christian Heljanko conceded the 3–1 goal, which was the winning goal of the match, with unbelievable ease.
Niku is still looking for his place
One of the most followed players of the evening had switched from JYP to Ilves earlier in the week, accompanied by a big commotion Sami Niku. On Friday, the Ilves defender played his second match in an Ilves shirt and still a little tired. Niku’s basic playing is good, but a few passes were still looking for their blades and in general Niku still seems to be looking for his place in the new team. The JYP student has played two matches Arttu Pellin as a pair in the second pair and as part of the first superiority composition.
All in all, Niku had a great time in his first Tampere local game.
– I have never played for such a large audience (12,700 spectators) in Finland. The hall was full and the feeling was amazing in every way, Niku was happy for Urheilu after the match.
Regarding the game, Niku admitted that changing clubs takes time due to the differences in playing styles.
– Of course, we play a little differently here. In Ilves, the game is faster, so that you try to play in a more straightforward way. We roll a little less. It takes some getting used to at first. I’ve gotten to grips with it pretty well, and yes, the game will improve when you get to the bottom of it even better.
Niku will have to learn a somewhat new role in Tampere anyway. Whereas in Jyväskylä this was the master of the floor and Hidalgo also in terms of playing minutes, in Tampere Niku is more a part of a functioning big machine. In Jyväskylä, Niku played up to 25 minutes in matches at his best, but in Ilves the responsibility is closer to 20 minutes, even less.
– Of course, it’s a bit different. When you play for 25 minutes, you’re stuck in that game the whole time. Still, it’s not difficult to adapt to this either. I still get to play a lot. It’s great to play.
Niku has started calmly in Ilves, and so far there have been few bold moves and daring puck solutions typical of a skilled defender. On Friday, there was one spectacular transport, the kind of which Niku, grinning widely, promised more during the spring. On Friday, Niku also got his first point in an Ilves shirt from Palve Tappara’s 5-2 goal into an empty net.
– All my life I have played my own game, but of course the team has certain principles to play by. I try to add my own thing to it. Maybe that transportation is now a little less.
At the team level, the change is quite a big one for Niku, as in a week the Series ranking changed from 13th place to 1st place.
– Of course it is. You always want to win and that’s the best thing about this profession. It’s great to win games again, Niku laughed.
On the sidelines on Saturday
On Saturday, Ilves will face Sport in an away match in Vaasa, but Niku will not be seen in the match. The Jyväskylä gambler still drives back to his home in Jyväskylä on Friday night because of the funeral of a loved one on Saturday. The defender and his family plan to settle in Tampere in the near future.