HPK tied the match series against Tappara.
Rikard Grönborg got angry at the end of the third period. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
Mikko Mannerin coached by HPK got an important victory in the second quarter-final match against Tappara, when the home team beat the regular season number one at home with a score of 2–1.
Pallokerho, who tied the match wins at 1–1, took a 1–0 lead in the match in 7:53, when Sami Päivärinta hit between the posts with superior power. The home team’s strong momentum continued at the beginning of the second period, when Olli Korhonen moved HPK to a 2–0 lead.
The 19-year-old who played a convincing match with HPK’s goal Kim Saarinen Tappara won the draw Jesper Mattila in 48.09. The youngster finally made 27 saves in the win.
Grönborg was furious
One of the most talked about moments of the match was seen in the last minutes of the final set, when Tapparan Joachim Blichfeld tackled HPK in an ominous way by Cameron Wright I’ll put it. The Canadian striker hurt himself in the situation and left the fight to the side of the locker room.
Tappara’s head coach Rikard Grönborg was visibly upset about the situation. The Swedish coach laughed at the HPK star filming the situation. In the end, the judges decided on two minutes, which was also a drastic setback for Tappara.
Grönborg said at the press conference after the match that he was mostly satisfied with the contribution of his players.
– Overall, I was quite satisfied with the first batch. I knew they were going to start really hard early in the game. I think we managed it pretty well. Then I was not at all satisfied with the second batch. We have to play better, Grönborg stated about the first two sets.
– I was satisfied with the third set, but unfortunately it fell a little short in the end. We created enough scoring chances, we just need to be more efficient in that area. Tough game for us.
Manner agreed with the flow of the game.
– Sure, it’s nice to find a way to win, but we need to defend better, especially in the counterattack game, Manner said.
