Olympic winner Iiro Pakarinen opened his goal account at HIFK in his first league match of the season.
Iiro Pakarinen celebrated his 6-1 goal with restraint. Matti Raivio / AOP
- HIFK cut its losing streak by winning SaiPan 6-1.
- KHL returnees Teemu Turunen and Iiro Pakarinen opened their seasons in the League.
- Pakarinen immediately opened his paint account.
– It’s been a little over a week since I last played, Iiro Pakarinen referred second to Sunday’s Olympic final.
– I tried to get inside the game, get a few tackles and go under a couple of times.
With a rigging at the end of SaiPa, he removed the puck for HIFK and paved the way Alex Broadhurstin To a goal of 2–0, when the playing time had not expired until 2.12.
– Yes, you noticed that the leg weighed a little when there was a slightly longer slice. I had quite a break in a few shifts, Pakarinen described – although the man’s game in the auditorium looked great.
– It felt pretty good and improved all the time towards the end.
In the final round, Pakarinen finished with the final numbers 6–1.
– It’s good to improve on this, now it’s definitely off the machine, he said.
Return to Nordis
Pakarinen, 30, who comes from Suonenjoki and went through the KalPa junior trail, represented HIFK in 2012–14.
Since then, he has accumulated, among other things, 134 NHL matches before his KHL career. For the last two seasons, he represented the Jokers.
The latter season was interrupted when the club ended its season in the ruble league after Russia launched an offensive war in Ukraine.
– Of course, good mood, Pakarinen described his return to the disc sanctuary on Nordenskiöldinkatu.
– The season in the Jokers ended because of sad things. I got the feeling positive on a personal level when I get to continue playing this spring.
Men on the sidelines
The win broke the losing streak in HIFK’s three games and was only third in the last 11 games.
– We have analyzed it, and there are all sorts of reasons for that. But when the puck falls off and we’re not quite ready, it’s exactly the same as the other reasons there, HIFK head coach Ville Peltonen commented on the team’s awkward February.
– It’s the kind of thing we need to be better at. Now we were better at it, but there is still work to be done.
HIFK still has eight regular players out of lineup.
– Some are in the covid protocol and some are out for other reasons, Peltonen informs.
– Every game is really important. Not who does it there but how it does. That is more important, he stressed.
Reinforcements
In addition to Pakarinen, another returnee also moved from the Jokers Teemu Turunen played his first league match of the season against SaiPaa.
– We are really pleased that Teemu and Iiro wanted to come to IFK. They have a history here and they are very good players, Peltonen praised and also reminded of the JYP loan Reid from Gardiner.
– A good striker with a goal scorer, Peltonen described the Canadian who had already scored his 20th goal of the season.
Gardiner, Roni Hirvonen and defender Jordan Schmaltz gathered the most handsome powers of the evening, 1 + 2 men.
Finally, Peltonen looked at things from a broader perspective. He reminded of gratitude for the fact that it is possible to play in front of an audience again, and that things are “pretty good” in Finland.