In Lahti, you should be worried that the Pelicans did not look like a uniform and disciplined team, writes Simo Arkko.
Simo Architector
The strong will pass through the gray stone.
This text, combined with the Jukuri captain’s face, featured at the end of the Mikkeli Ice Hall before the second Playout match. The Jukuri had bent to the Pelicans the previous day at the first encounter, even though the Mikkeli people might have earned more.
There was a lot of condensed from the Jukuri supporters, perhaps the entire Playout series. Before the spring, there was a lot of talk about how foreign players might take a look at the spring matches. The series showed that at least the Jukuri foreigners gave their best.
Peter Abbandonato He caught a score of 5+5, but he raised especially as a strong fighter. A Canadian, as well as the entire Jukuri team, skated disciplined with their own.
There was no similar will and desire to play for the community with Pelicans. For example, nearly 200 regular season games in Pelicans have played Ryan Lasch looked back upright in the fourth match when Viljam Sandvik made a 3-0 hit with underdog the Jukurit icon Jesper Piitulainen from the feed.
A similar one was visible in the rink throughout the series. While the Jukuri struck the Pelicans players in their defense, the Lahti people sometimes only defended the attacks of the Jukuri.
In advance, Pelicans had to be offensive and the runner after the Jukuri. Especially at the beginning of the series, the Pelicans could not create much dangerous goals. There was no plot and the necessary virtuosis in the trough, even with overwhelming.
Pelicans’ difficulties are illustrated by the fact that, according to Wisehockey’s smart hockey statistics, the momentum of the game was also practically the entire third -round Jukuri in a solution game, even though the Pelicans were on the back.
With the underdog, the Pelicans, on the other hand, had a really big difficulty in the whole series. While the goalkeeper Patrik Bartosak Has not been in the best of a while, sometimes he stretched to a few top spatulas and held the Pelicans in the result.
Pelicans still have a lot of potential for its material, which is a significant advantage in the qualifying series. On the other hand, this was supposed to be against the Jukurs.
In Lahti, you should be concerned that the Pelicans did not look like a uniform and disciplined team. On the contrary: the players took the stupid cools and occasionally lifted their backs upright.
Sami Kapanen And players have a big job to turn the boat in the other direction. The Pelicans are likely to get their attitude in order, but the mental readiness to perform with adequate relaxation and creativity at important moments requires liberating successes right from the start.
Must also remember that the Joker head coach Risto Dufvan Ice hockey is known for spoiling the opponent’s game humor. Dufva helps you have a familiar defense from the Pelicans Ben Blood, Rony Ahonen and Teemu Suhonen League -like league. Also a fighter Saku Forsblom and a point fragrance Riku Tuomola have twisted dozens of games in the SM League.
The Jokers’ biggest challenge is definitely the goalkeeper department. 21-year-old Jokers’ own raised Sisu Heikkeri has played a good regular season and playoffs, but he is a completely unintentional card against SM league players. Good is not necessarily enough.
However, the Jokers, in principle, have a better situation than the Jukurs, who last played in the qualifying in the spring of 2013 against Ilves. Then the Jukuri cut off the place without their best players who had already been injured in the Mestis playoffs.
After all Ville Kolppanen took the goalkeeper battle Andreas Bernard against.
This spring, the Jokers’ road has been lighter and has not suffered much of bad injuries. There are finishers in the Joker attack that can Juhamatti Aaltonen and Valtteri Filppula The lead is sure to damage the Pelicans underpower.
Even in history, the goalkeeper department is the Jokers’ biggest question mark.
The Pelicans leaves the qualifiers as a favorite. However, they must finally deal with the situation at a mental level and play at the SM League. You can’t afford to freeze.