HIFK was cramped with a league jump.
Henrik Haapala opened his paint account in Ilves’ shirt. Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
The number one in the Finnish Championship league series, Ilves in Tampere, was already on his way to a sure victory in Jyväskylä. However, JYP tightened the game and Ilves needed extra time for his 5-4 victory.
Ilves led the match at its best already in the 3-0 second set. Star acquisition Henrik Haapala hit his first goal in Ilves’ shirt and changed the numbers to 4-2 with a lead of 45.53.
JYP used his overtime six minutes before the end and only succeeded a minute later. Samuel Salonen hit with force when JYP took another sixth field player on the ice.
There was a minute and 50 seconds left in the game clock when the handicap came into play Severi Lahtinen stage. However, the hustle and bustle of hurricane shirts was not enough to win. Nicholas Baptiste shot the other half of the evening with a winning extra time.
The rise of HIFK
Helsinki IFK was not easy to get to either. Pori’s Aces, who live in the league’s jumbo, teased HIFK at the beginning of the match and took the 2–1 lead in the third round.
However, HIFK piled up its lines. Jere Innala raised first to the levels, and two minutes before the final buzzer Johan Motin scored a winning goal. Eetu Koivistoinen finished with a 4–2 hit blank.
In the other matches of the afternoon, HPK defeated Sport 4-1 and TPS defeated Luko 4-2. Rauma Lock icon Janne Niskalan the shirt was lifted to the ceiling.
Tappara defeated KalPan 2–1 after the winning shot. The decisive hit was crushed Kristian Tanus. Jukuri pinched the score at the expense of Pelicans with goals 1-0, and SaiPa took the extra time victory from Size 2-1.