Exciting right to the end – HIFK’s ice hockey ladies won their first ever gold

It was not the third time lucky for Kiekko-Espoo, who have won the last two seasons in the women’s hockey league. Instead, HIFK won for the first time after a dramatic showdown.

HIFK led 2-0 in match wins before tonight’s clash and they made sure to take advantage of their chance.

But there was no question that it was Kiekko-Espoo who wanted revenge that came into play in the decisive match. Esbolaget started the match strongly and dominated large parts of the first period. They had several good chances on goal and it was only a matter of time before one of the attempts hit the back of the net, which happened with four minutes left in the period.

Shortly after their lead goal, however, Kiekko-Espoo was sent off, which the home team was not slow to take advantage of. The reduction goal was scored by Sanni Vanhanen and the score at the break was 1-1.

Eventful match

In the second period, it was another HIFK who took to the ice. The game was much more even and both teams had several good chances. The best goal of the match came when HIFK’s Michaela Pejzlova took her team into the lead for the first time in the match. The home team countered and Pejzlova completed the attack with a neat goal on the crossbar.

The rest of the match was colored by numerous expulsions and video reviews.

As the third period began to suffer towards its end, HIFK looked to be heading for a certain victory. But with just over a minute left, Kiekko-Espoo’s Emmi Rakkolainen managed to pry the puck in from an almost impossible angle and the match was suddenly reduced. However, Esbolaget barely had time to think about extra time before HIFK punctuated the match with only half a minute left in the match. The referee initially showed that it was not a goal, but after video review, Sanni Vanhanen’s shot was approved.

First gold

HIFK and Kiekko-Espoo also met last year in the final. Then it was Esbolaget that won the game. HIFK has four championship medals from the past, three bronze and one silver, but now gets to celebrate a gold for the first time.

– The experiences of recent years have made us strong. The team lost last year but now they showed that they are not losers anymore. Good feelis and a lot of hard work are behind it, says head coach Saara Niemi to Cmore.

In front of the home crowd, which amounted to 1300 people, the home team had to celebrate their victory. How the evening progresses is still not clear to the team.

– I don’t know yet how we will celebrate, but we will celebrate, says player Julia Liikala to Cmore.