Pori Ässie’s season ended in Vaasa with a 2–3 loss to Vaasa Sport. Aces captain Jesse Joensuu is thinking about the continuation of his career.
In the ice hockey championship league, there was a fierce fight for the last playoff spots in Vaasa. Risto Dufvan piloted by Sport already led the match 2–0 by Axel Holmström and by Johan Sundström with goals, but Eemil Erholtz and Jan-Mikael Järvinen brought Aces to levels.
Before the final round of the regular season, Ässät was still a notch higher than Vaasa in the series. Johan Sundström however, scored four minutes before the final buzzer to give Sport a 3–2 lead. Since no more goals were seen, Sport rose past the people of Pori to the tenth place, which entitles them to the last playoff spot of the regular season. It will face KalPa in the first round of the playoffs.
Naturally, the Pori camp was disappointed after the match.
– In my opinion, the whole game was, in a certain way, a miniature version of our season. If you can’t beat the eleventh ranked team in the series, there’s no point in it. It’s great that we got such an exciting game, where it was as if we were already playing in the playoffs. Yes, it was this 60 matches that decided, Aces captain Jesse Joensuu comment.
According to Joensuu, Äss had too many games in the season where the team’s game performance was basically quite good, but the opposing team took the points.
– Yes, you have to be able to win those games. It’s not really enough and no one cares if the game is OK and you still lose. But when you’re eleventh in the series, you’re not terribly close to the championship. Now this is how it ended. I would have liked to offer the people of Pori and our team more games. At that point when the buzzer sounded and Sport celebrated, there was an empty feeling, Joensuu continued.
– But then you realized that that’s it. Nothing to explain. This should have been won, but it ended 3-2. You’re out of the loop.
There has been speculation about the end of the 36-year-old Joensuu’s career all season. Urheilu also reported on the end of the club icon’s career in January.
However, according to Joensuu, he himself has not made a decision one way or the other.
– I don’t have many playing years left. But I haven’t made a decision about ending the career, whether it would have been an inside source who said that (that the career is ending). I’ve been thinking that when so many people ask if you’re going to stop, is it time to stop, Joensuu grinned.
So you might offer the people of Pori something hockey-related next year?
– Yes Yes.
Jesse Joensuu was interviewed by Pasi Roimela.