The match dates for the Finnish Championship League finals and the bronze match have come as a surprise. Arto I. Järvelä, the league’s executive director, says that the tight calendar of events in the Tampere arena, among other things, has enabled limited scheduling solutions.
The men’s hockey league has progressed to medal games. Tampere’s Tappara and Turku Palloseura will compete in the Finnish Championship finals, Tampere’s Ilves and Kouvola’s KooKoo will play in the one-piece bronze match.
The league announced the schedules for both the finals and the one-piece bronze match on Easter Saturday. Game dates quickly sparked debate among puck fans. The followers of hockey have wondered about the game days and their distribution among the clubs, among other things.
Of the seven scheduled finals of the Finnish Championship League, which start on Wednesday, only two will be played on Saturday and both will be played in Turku. So Tappara, who has won the regular season, will not get the weekend finals in Tampere, in addition to which he has two scheduled Monday games in a series of seven matches.
Four wins are required to win a match series and championship, which is why not all scheduled games may take place.
In addition to the scheduling of the finals, the game date of the bronze match has confused those following the SM League. Ilves and KooKoo will play their bronze match in Tampere, in the home hall of Ilves, which is better placed in the regular season, on Sunday, April 24th. As a result, Ilves will have to wait a week before his match after the semi-finals, while KooKoo will rest for ten days.
The scheduling of the last games has revealed certain challenges for the Finnish Champions League competition executive Arto I. Järvelän by.
– This is the result of many influential factors. There have been bad solutions on offer, which he has tried to make the best possible, he says to Urheilu.
The rush weeks in the Tampere arena make it difficult
The reason for building the schedule is simple: there will be two major concert events in the Tampere arena within a week that will advance the Finnish Champions League playoffs. In addition to these, the postponement of the decision of the regular season has brought challenges to scheduling, according to Järvelä, the league’s executive director, and the upcoming World Hockey Championships.
The Finnish metal giant Nightwish will perform at the arena for the first time on Wednesday, April 22, and its various concerts have been postponed several times since their original performance. Nightwish was originally scheduled to perform in Tampere as early as December 2021. On Wednesday, April 27, the Swedish hard rock band Ghost will take the stage.
– Decisions on the dates of the finals are based purely on the reservations of the Tampere Arena. In addition, the upcoming World Championships will cause May 2 to be the last possible day of play in Tampere, Järvelä summarizes.
– The coronavirus has caused the postponement of the dates of concerts and events, but also the postponement of the regular season of the Finnish Championship League by a few days. With the move, we got to play the regular season in full.
The decision of the Finnish Championship regular season was postponed by five days in February and ended on March 22nd.
Consequently, the scheduling of the bronze match to be played in Tampere has also experienced its own challenges.
– Our ideal situation would have been that we could have played the bronze match next Friday. However, the game could not be held in Tampere at that time. If TPS had been a bronze match team, Turku would have been played on Friday, Järvelä says.
“It’s kind of useless whining”
The CEO of KooKoo, who is resting ten days before the bronze match Sakari Abroad doesn’t mind a long break before the final game of the season.
– Of course, it didn’t come as a surprise to us when the match will be played in Tampere and there will be concerts and league finals, says the CEO of KooKoo.
Although the ten-day break after intense semi-finals and semi-finals is very long in the playoffs, Välimaa believes that there is nothing to complain about.
– The playoffs are played exactly according to their schedules. There is no need to whine about this, which is the optimal situation. Games have come closely to this point for everyone. By the way, it must be remembered that there are other events in the Tampere arena where hockey dodges them, because it is a multi-purpose arena, Välimaa says firmly.
The importance of bronze matches has been discussed in sports circles on several occasions. According to Välimaa, there is nothing unclear about the significance of the future medal game for the people of Kouvola: the bronze match is of great interest.
– It’s a big deal for us. We have the opportunity to take the first medal in our club history. Not all clubs have medals in the Finnish Championship League yet, so hopefully we can bring the very first one to Kouvola, he decides.
The medal for Ilves, who plays as a home team, has been expected. The most recent medal for the people of Tampere was bronze in the spring of 2001, 21 years ago.
Champions League final culmination program 2022
Wed 20.4. at 6.30 pm Tappara – TPS
Sat 23.4. at 17.00 TPS – Tappara
Ma 25.4. at 6.30 pm Tappara – TPS
Ti 26.4. at 6.30 pm TPS – Tappara
To 28.4. at 6.30 pm Tappara – TPS
Sat 30.4. at 17.00 TPS – Tappara
May 2.5. at 6.30 pm Tappara – TPS
The bronze match Ilves – KooKoo will be played in Tampere on Sunday 24.4. at 5 p.m.