Tappara grabbed another final berth in the hockey SM league by beating the Pelicans 2–0 in Lahti in an even and intense final match performance. Otto Rauhala and hit empty at the end Walter Merelä were responsible for scoring.
– A good fighting game that tolerated everything. This culminated in underpowering. It wasn’t the best in Tappara, but it doesn’t matter when you win, said the player who had a clean sheet with 26 saves Christian Heljanko.
Jussi Tapolan the protectors are two wins away from the Canada Cup. From a 0–2 defeat in the final games, there have only been three times in the history of the SM league to rise to the Finnish championship.
– The first half was weak from us, but after that you can only be satisfied with the way we played – certainly not with the scoring in any form. It doesn’t matter how many chances you get if you don’t score. Special situations and its intrigue must be improved, indicated the Pelicans pilot Tommi Niemelä 11 to the wasted superiority minutes.
– Tappara took a tapper-like attachment, you can’t help but admire that. Ben Blood got seven minutes of superiority time for his team, but it didn’t help now, said Puhee’s expert Top Nättinen.
As soon as Saturday, the program includes the third final match of the finals in Tampere with only less than twenty hours of recovery.
– We played better than in the 1st final, but the finish was the problem. It’s fine with me when we play already tomorrow. With two fixings, nothing is done yet, four are required for the championship, the Pelicans defender who hit the post in the second period Toni Utunen would say
The lightning goal was the winning goal
Tappara got a lightning start to the match when the captain Otto Rauhala directed in 1.04 Maksim Matushkin line drive to the Pelicans’ net. The puck went Patrik Bartos too from the crossbar to the finish line. Bad start for the home team.
Walter Merelä was after that the best from Rauhala’s pass with the Pelicans goalie, but Bartosak saved the home team from another setback with a great glove save. The Pelicans were in the lead in the early minutes.
Tapparata had a strong and sharp start to the fight, but gradually the match leveled out and the Pelicans won the end of the game with two superior powers. Shots for Tappara in the set 18–13.
At the end of the opening set, in time 18:44 Pelicans Ben Blood your tackle first Casimir Jurgensbut the Tappara deck Ben Thomas came to tackle the Pelicans’ so-called as the third player.
– I got hit in the head, I wonder if it doesn’t go on video, expert Topi Nättinen commented.
Blood lay on the surface of the ice for a while and went to the locker room after his suit. Instead, Thomas went out the big doors, shower command 5+20.
Blood returned to real action, the Pelicans’ superiority coughed up
In the second, goalless period, the Pelicans wasted almost six minutes of superiority time, i.e. the end of their big superiority and more Anton Levtchin getting the second one that came from taking down Blood.
Tappara pressed hard at times in the latter half of the second set. Patrik Bartosak fended off a couple of dangerous situations. Christian Tanus missed perhaps the best place to do it.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, had two top plots to equalize, but Aatu Jämsen tired from the counterattack, he shot over the goal of the game tool, and defender Toni Utunen hit the post, sneaking the puck past Tappara’s goal.
– Both goalkeepers have been excellent today, praised the expert Top Nättinen.
The shots in the second set were scored for the Pelicans 19–12. Saved eleven shots in the set Christian Heljanko kept Tapparaa on the surface in the difficult early moments of the set.
The equalization attempt hit the post
In the third period, Tappara had a substitution error in the attack zone, when the visitors had three defenders on the ice at the same time in 43:41.
The Pelicans Elias Vilen shot from the middle sector of the puck from the resulting superiority Christian Heljangon armpit to pole.
Tappara managed 11 minutes of understrength in the match, in total Tampere have now played 55 minutes of understrength in the playoffs, of which only one goal was conceded!
At the end when playing without a goalkeeper Walter Merelä was able to clear the puck Jori Lehterän from the passport in time 59.04, when Lukas Jasek made a mistake in the situation.
The 2nd final of the Ice Hockey Championship League (champion with 4 wins):
Pelicans- Tappara 0-2 (0-1.0-0.0-1)
01.04 0-1 Rauhala (Matushkin, Seppälä)
59.04 0-2 Merelä (Lehtärä, Savinainen) tm
Goalkeepers Audience: 4403
Bartosak 9+ 7+ 4 = 20
Heljanko 7+11+8 = 26
Wins 0-2