Antti Pennanen did not go on the ice to shake hands with his opponent, as is the ancient tradition, when KalPa knocked Ilves out of the SM league medal games.
On Friday evening, KalPa created a sensation when it advanced to the semi-finals of the SM league. The team from Kuopio put champion favorite Ilves on summer vacation with a 4-1 win.
In terms of play, KalPa fully deserved their victory. After the match, one of the topics of conversation was Ilves’ head coach Antti Pennanen activities. Pennanen did not go on the ice to shake hands with the opposing team.
Ilta-Sanomat asked From Pennase about the situation after the match.
– I apologize for that now. It was quite an accident. That really… If that’s the practice in the league, then I apologize. It has nothing to do with it. I thought I’d go over there (dressing booth) and shake hands. Familiar men. There was no bad behavior at all. I apologize, Pennanen replied to IS.
Pennanen’s behavior was condemned in various media and social media discussions as cheap, arrogant, and the embarrassing and rude behavior of a bad loser.
Pennanen’s activities are understandably under a very special magnifying glass, because he will be the head coach of the number one brand in Finnish hockey, the Lions. Jukka Jalonen will move aside from Leijon after the spring World Championships.
Pennanen’s explanation didn’t help either, as the playoffs are a familiar environment for HPK’s spring 2019 champion coach.
A photo of Pennanen shaking hands with the Pelicans’ head coach started circulating on social media Tommi Niemelää. The picture was taken a year ago. Then Pelicans caused Ilves a huge disappointment by being clearly better in the semi-finals – but Pennanen joined the handshake line.
Now, however, from Ilves’ point of view, the stomach-churning was even more drastic.
– First of all, you could see that the feeling and disappointment were really hard, as you can certainly imagine. But when you looked at that handshake line, there must have been others from the Ilves organization there, guardians and masseurs, thought Urheilu’s expert Jesse Saarinen.
Saarinen and the editor Jussi Paasi discussed Pennanen’s activities at the beginning of Saturday’s Ice Hockey round. Saarinen, 38, played in his league career for, among others, HPK, Kärpi, Pelicans and HIFK.
The ancient tradition had not been forgotten by all Ilves background troops, unlike Pennase.
– Special from him. I’m sure he knows that. There has had to be such a strong reaction and disappointment, when the kong has gone haywire, that he has not been able to think rationally, is Saarinen’s assessment of the situation.
– Like I said. He certainly knows that this is indeed the practice, Saarinen says in relation to the pictures that are now spreading from last season’s Pelicans semifinal.
Saarinen points out that Pennanen has also operated under great pressure in Ilves. The move to Leijon has been known for a long time. The season ended with a miserable stomach upset, after which the future of Pennanen and Leijonien has already been questioned in the media.
– There has been a personal blackout, Saarinen sums up with a handshake.
On Saturday, the semi-final places are on hold for Tappara, Kärpi and Pelicans in the matches that started at 5 p.m. Jääkiekkokierros follows the events at Areena.