Jukka Rautakorpi, who arrived at JYP, is the second member of the 900 match club.
Jukka Rautakorpi debuted in the SM league as a head coach in 1995. Vesa Pöppönen / All Over Press
JYP head coach Jukka Rautakorpi crossed the 900-game mark as the second SM league coach on Tuesday, when the Jyväskylä team plays against SaiPa. Just last week, before the Konkari coach, SaiPa was fired Pekka Virta.
The difference between the two is only four matches, so with these setups, Rautakorpi will single-handedly become the record holder on the 1st of November in the HIFK match.
Rautakorpi debuted as SM league head coach in 1995 in Tappara. In Tampere, he also celebrated his only Finnish championship in the 2002–2003 season. The Kauhajoki native has also coached in Luko and HPK in Finland’s main league.
Rautakorvi’s team has left the ice as a winner a total of 444 times, when only the games that ended in regular time are included. There are a total of 150 playoff wins, which is also a record.
The career path has also led the man to Sweden and Russia for a season.
Rautakorvi’s celebratory match has so far gone according to the script. Although SaiPa moved Ville Meskanen throughout the early lead, JYP pushed to level and over Rasmus Heljangon and Jerry Turkulainen with goals.
Flies getting back on track
Kasper Björkqvist scored the opening goal for Kärppie. Mikko Lieri / AOP
Oulu’s Kärpät is trying to wipe the weekend’s SaiPa loss off their shoulders. Visiting Pori Ässät surrendered for the first time in front of the Oulu attack when Kasper Björkqvist scored his third goal of the season.
In the meantime, there is a battle for the top at Tampere’s Nokia Arena. The Ilves of Tampere have so far not found a way to pass Luko Artem Zagidulin. The Russian keeper has overshadowed Ilves’ attackers and is on his way to his sixth clean sheet of the season.
The lock leads Anrei Hakulinen and Sebastian Repon with goals.
The story will be updated as the games progress