Maxime Fortier composed himself.
There was no Monday night by Maxime Fortier evening.
SaiPa’s golden helmet did not make it to the points, and he also collected a mint triple from the match (power reading -3).
Fortier was in the teeth of the Pori people throughout the match – both on the field and in the stands.
Aces fans booed every time the Canadian touched the puck.
– I try not to listen to them [huuteluja]. Of course you hear it, but I have to focus on what I’m doing on the ice. And right now I have to be able to do better, Fortier said after the match.
Fortier has one goal in four playoff games. This is too little help for the team’s number one gun, who dominated the regular season at a rate of well over a point per game.
Fortier has also attacked the people of Pori on the field. On the ice, Ässät didn’t give the man any extra space in the foursome.
– Aces is a good team, and they play hard. They don’t give much time or space so I have to be better and find ways to beat them. Gotta be able to adapt and be better in the next game on Wednesday.
The struggle between SaiPa and Ässie has been heated, and the matches have been heated.
Fortier doesn’t think there’s any special charge involved.
– When you play against the same team again and again, confrontations start to arise. That’s part of this. The playoffs are really intense anyway, and nobody wants to go on summer vacation, so every game means a lot.
Your star defender Santeri Airola was injured in the second set and did not play again in the third. Do you know how he is?
– I’m not sure about his current situation, but he’s a really strong guy, so I think he’ll be in the lineup for the next game, Fortier sighed deeply.
He didn’t think the tackle itself was dirty.
– I don’t think so.
The next game is on Wednesday. How do you prepare for it?
– We were leading 2-1 for most of the game, so we did a lot of good things. The opponent was better in the third period and scored the decisive goals. But the game is over now. It doesn’t matter if you lose 3-1 or 7-1 – that game is gone. We have to win two more games and now we focus on preparing for that, he concluded.
The fifth match of the match series will be played on Wednesday in Lappeenranta.
Maxime Fortier was scoreless. Mikko Lieri / AOP
