Ilves started the playoffs with a win.
Ilves won in Germany. Stock photo. PDO
The CHL playoffs started on Tuesday and the Finnish teams are strongly involved in the struggle on the European courts. There are Ilves, KalPa and Lukko, all of whom made it to the next round of the regular season.
Ilves left behind all its rivals in the regular season by winning all six of its matches, while KalPa secured its place in the playoffs with five wins and one overtime win.
Lukko completed the Finnish representation by finishing fifth in the regular season.
On Tuesday, the playoffs started with the Finnish clubs Ilves and KalPa. Ilves traveled to Germany, where they faced Pinguins Bremerhaven.
The people of Tampere got a dream start to the match, when Arttu Pelli took Ilves to a 1–0 lead with superiority after seven minutes of play. Three minutes later Alex Friesen tied the scores at 1-1, and midway through the second period Christian Wejsen gave the Germans a 2–1 lead.
The goal was scrutinized for a long time for possible offside, but it was finally allowed.
At the end of the second period, we saw a very sad situation when Bennett Rossmy tackled by an Ilves player Luke Henman at high speed and still far from the edge. Henman flew violently to the side and the situation looked very bad.
The Canadian forward was clearly groggy and covered in blood when his teammates carried him from the ice to the locker room.
Luke Henman was tackled from the rink. Stock photo. Tomi Natri / AOP
Rossmyn Taklaus led to a breakaway and Ilves got a five-minute advantage. The people of Tampere quickly took advantage of their opportunity when Matic Torök scored the equalizer after just 43 seconds of the power play and brought Ilves to 2-2.
The dramatic match continued at the beginning of the third period, when Ilves also scored the winning goal with a five-minute advantage. Erik Borg shot the puck into the net in the second minute of the match and the people of Tampere secured their victory with a score of 3–2.
The second match of the series will be played on 19.11. at the Nokia Arena.
A thriller in Switzerland
KalPa played its opening match of the playoffs in Switzerland. PDO
KalPa met Zurich Lions in Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The people from Kuopio started the match strongly, although the home team took the lead in the eighth minute By Willy Ried by hitting Mikko Lehtonen input.
However, KalPa answered lightning fast: Andreas Okany equalized after just 55 seconds, and just over two minutes later Tuukka Korkiakoski moved the Kuopio team to a 2–1 lead.
The second set turned to Zurich when Andy Andreaoff and Denis Malgin scored two quick goals in less than two minutes and turned the match into a 3–2 lead for the home team.
In the third set, however, KalPa fought back. Aleksi Klemetti equalized the match with superiority in 8:49 and Okany hit his second shot soon after, which seemed to be the winning goal. However, a good five minutes before the end Sven Andrighetto brought Zurich level and the match finally ended in a 4–4 draw.
The decisive semi-final will be played in Kuopio on November 19, and then it will be clear which team advances to the semi-finals.
Lukko opens its playoffs on Wednesday, when it faces Norway’s Storhamar.