HIFK is in the match again and the semi-final series against Tappara is alive. HIFK won the second match at home. The series between the Pelicans and Ilves is also 1-1.
After a tight first semi-final that Tappara eventually won after extra time, HIFK needed a win at home tonight.
Two straight home losses were something the Comrades wanted to avoid at any cost – it could simply be too tough a nut to crack. In addition, the three following matches will be played in Tampere.
And HIFK got the important home victory. 2–2 after two periods became 4–2 when the final buzzer sounded.
Julius Nättinen scored an early goal in the last period, and Iiro Pakarinen got a goal when he was brought down in a free position as Tappara played without a goalkeeper in the final minutes.
– We have played two good matches and the team has grown. Now we got results and we are on the right track, says HIFK’s coach Ville Peltonen at the press conference.
Tappara coach Jussi Tapola also felt that the better team won the other semi-final.
– This is playoff hockey at its best. There are feelings and things happen. It was an even match and the better team won, he says.
Pelicans water without Ben Blood
The Pelicans also tied 1–1 in games against Ilves. It was 3-2 at home tonight in a game where the team played without Ben Blood for 54 minutes.
The defender received a match penalty after a tackle on Eemeli Suomi six minutes into the first period. Ilves then led 1–0 but then failed to capitalize on their five-minute numerical superiority after Blood’s expulsion.
Instead, Lukas Jasek equalized for the Pelicans in the middle of the first period. Jasek also scored the Pelicans’ second goal at the start of the second period and Anton Mylläri made it 3–1 a few minutes later.
Ilves scored a reduction in the second period, but then the Pelicans held off and had to celebrate in front of the home crowd.
– It was an even match and the special situations decided. Now it’s about winning in Tampere, there will be tough matches there too. The playoffs are the crown of the season and it’s easy to enjoy, says Pelican winger Iikka Kangasniemi to Yle.
Results:
HIFK–Tappara 4–2 (0–1, 2–1, 2–0)
14.42 0–1 Waltteri Merelä (Veli-Matti Savinainen, Niko Ojamäki) PP
26.39 1–1 Sebastian Dyk (Julius Nättinen, Otto Salin) pp
35.49 2–1 Micke-Max Åsten (Otto Paajanen, Victor Berglund)
39.50 2–2 Waltteri Merelä (Valtteri Kemiläinen, Jori Lehterä) pp
40.37 3–2 Julius Nättinen
58.30 4–2 Iiro Pakarinen
1–1 i matcher
Pelicans–Ilves 3–2 (1–1, 2–1, 0–0)
05.54 0–1 Eetu Päkkilä (Henrik Haapala)
12.31 1–1 Lukas Jasek (Iikka Kangasniemi, Miika Roine) pp
26.09 2–1 Lukas Jasek (Iikka Kangasniemi, Aatu Jämsen) PP
29.01 3–1 Anton Mylläri (Petteri Riihinen)
33.41 3–2 Santeri Virtanen (Les Lancaster, Dominik Masin)
1–1 i matcher
