The second semi-final series is led by last season’s silver medalist Kiekko-Espoo, who have won both their matches against KalPa. The third matches of the semifinal series will be played on Saturday.
The reigning champion of the Ice Hockey Women’s League, HIFK, will have to work hard to renew their place in the finals this spring.
The team from Helsinki finished second in the regular season, despite the six-point penalty, and even won matches with a difference of more than ten goals.
HIFK thus went into the semi-final series against HPK as a clear favorite, but the match series is at 1–1. A place in the final matches is split with three wins.
HIFK’s head coach Saara Niemen according to, the even struggle has not come as a surprise. HPK won the first leg 1–0 Oona Koukkulan by hitting On Thursday, HIFK won the fight for second place 5–4. He scored the winning goal Pauliina Salonen.
– In the first game, Pirkkola had a bit of a slow start. There was also improvement, but Thursday’s game in Hämeenlinna was a hard fight from both sides. These have been games with small margins, says Niemi.
Niemi praises HPK, which finished third in the regular season. The comprehensive team from Hämeenlinna is able to vary between hard pressing and trap defense that blocks the middle area.
– It’s an even three-court team and a team with skating power and a tight defense. It’s hard to break into the goalpost. In addition, they have a few skilled and good strikers.
HPK beat Kuortanene 3–0 in the quarterfinals, HIFK Kärpät by the same score.
Big steps
HIFK suffered from injuries before the playoffs, and for example, the number one in the points market in the regular season Michaela Pejzlova and Nelonen Julia Liikala were a couple of months away from the strength of the team.
Now both are back in the lineup, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
– Both are still able to take big steps in their own game and their game on the field and thus help the team even more. The screw can be tightened.
Due to injuries, HIFK has not been able to practice and play on their familiar fields as much as they would like. There is still room for improvement in the team’s playing, but according to Nieme, they have gone in the right direction in every match.
– We have to be able to defend even more closely, because HPK turns the game around well and there are fast puck attackers. We need to put more pressure on them.
– On Thursday, our scoring game improved. We achieved important successes in how to surprise HPK’s good and large-sized wallet.
Through the base game
According to Niemi, HIFK does not need magic tricks to reach the finals. The team is strong if it can implement its own style of play and improve in skating and fighting situations.
– Yes, it comes through our basic game. There is no need to change anything in tactics or adapt to HPK’s game. I see them having to adapt more to our game.
The second semi-final series is led by last season’s silver medalist Kiekko-Espoo, who have won both their matches against KalPa. The third matches of the semifinal series will be played on Saturday.