Rikard Grönborg kept his mouth shut about refereeing.
Rikard Grönborg has whipped Tappara into a convincing blow. Mika Kylmäniemi, AOP
Rikard Grönborg has silenced his critics, when Tappara has risen from a difficult 2–0 loss situation to victory in the finals.
According to the Swedish pilot, the secret of the climb has been a strong belief in one’s own abilities.
– We play to win, and that has to be the attitude. Don’t be afraid of losing.
– This is really high-quality hockey right now. I think we are a much deeper team than Ilves at the moment and we get pucks into the goal better, Grönborg estimates.
After Saturday’s 2-1 overtime win, Grönborg did not reveal what game-related things have been changed in Tappara after the rough start of the series.
– We just had to find different ways to win. Today was a great example of that.
Learn to recover
Tappara was close to taking home the win already in regular time, but Ilves was able to strike with an underpowered equalizer without a goalkeeper.
In the situation, the attention was drawn to the fact that Grönborg hit Tappara’s number one players on the ice Benjamin Rautiainen and by Joachim Blichfeld under. The defensive readiness of the powerful duo clearly failed Ilves during the equalizing goal.
Was it a mistake to put players on the field who were very successful in attack, when the lead should have been protected?
– I don’t think so. At the end of the day, we need strong puck players on the ice, and they are great with the puck.
– But sometimes it happens like this. We are moving forward, and it was a great moment for the guys to learn, commented Grönborg.
Grönborg interests the people especially when he gives feedback to the judges about questionable ice-box situations with his aggressive style. On Saturday, Grönborg’s mouth was especially in the second set, when Henrik Haapala got suspended for blocking the goalkeeper.
After victories, Grönborg rarely gives loud feedback to the referee coach of the SM league in the cubicle corridor. This was the case on Saturday, when Grönborg did not comment on the refereeing.
– I am really proud of our understrength, the Swede answered the burning question.
On Saturday, Tappara solved all four of Ilves’ overtime attempts.
Lynx in distress
Ilves head coach Tommi Niemelä regretted the weak performances in the decisive moments at the press conference after the match, although the team recovered from the seeding of Thursday’s match.
– Pikkainen should be able to play better if he wants to win at the moment. We can’t really produce results when we want to. It’s a bit of a challenge.
– I’m not quite satisfied with the fact that we settled for snooping in the attacking area. However, there should be a desire to score goals and solve situations, Niemelä summed up.
The Tampere semifinal series is at a turning point on Monday. Tappara can advance to the finals, while Ilves must win to keep its finals dreams alive.
