Lassi Kuisma
HPK put everything into the game in front of a packed home crowd. It was probably the last hurray, writes Lassi Kuisma from Hämeenlinna.
Benjamin Rautiainen was punched. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
HPK put everything into play once again.
When the puck fell on the ice in Rinkelinmäki ice hall in Hämeenlinna on Saturday, the atmosphere was extraordinary.
Full house for the first time since HPK’s championship spring 2019. David against Goliath.
Tappara gave HPK a throat-brushing on Thursday in the Nokia Arena, but HPK did not retreat into its shell. It sought to build attacks by passing from the platform to the shoulder, but also to destabilize its opponent with physicality.
HPK download exceeded. After just 13 seconds of play, Eetu Tuulola shot Tappara into the lead, when HPK’s play in their own area failed. The puck interested the home team’s players and the backup didn’t play.
A minute and a half later, Petteri Nikkilä, who grew up in Hämeenlinna, pulled Tappara’s golden helmet Benjamin Rautiais with a down hook, frankly, to the turd.
Nikkilä survived with two minutes left, but Rautiainen passed with superiority and Joachim Blichfeld shot to make it 2–0. Those were Rautiainen’s and Blichfeld’s first power points in the quarter-final series.
Thus, after just over three minutes, HPK had failed in one of its most important tasks, i.e. keeping Tappara at zero or one goal.
However, the difference in power between the teams in the matches played in Hämeenlinna and Nokia Arena has been one that is rarely seen.
In Hämeenlinna, the competition has been fairly even, and it is hard to imagine that HPK’s rise from two goals down would have happened anywhere else than in front of a sold-out home crowd.
In principle, Tappara had nothing to worry about, so for the visiting team, the game stretching into overtime was a drastic failure.
HPK scored two goals while playing without a goalkeeper. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
However, Tappara’s winning goal in the overtime was probably the last blow to HPK’s spring fever.
Tappara leads the quarter-final series 3–1, and HPK’s chances against the champion favorites are now really slim.
In the Nokia Arena, HPK’s game has been badly missed and Tappara has been the host.
