Now there is a place for the screen – Niilo Halonen bears the responsibility with HIFK’s paint

The Canadian acquired as the number one guard for this season Michael Garteig had just had a good shot when he was injured in the fourth in the regular season last week in Jyväskylä.

At the most important moment of the season, the responsibility for HIFK’s paint lies with the general public, who is still unknown Niilo Halonen.

– Great to play hard games. Spring is the best time for a hockey player, and now it’s my turn to show the skills, Halonen says as carefree as if she hadn’t heard of the pressure.

– If there was no pressure of any kind, then it would be a pretty bad starting point, he corrects the impression.

– There must always be some pressure, and I’m enjoying it right now. I am happy to take responsibility in the players.

The best percentage

Surprisingly, despite the situation that has arisen, Halonen can seize the opportunity with confidence.

– My everyday life at IFK has been good, and the foundations have been built from there. No need to go to any plaster. It just is the same, and now only the profits matter, he says.

Halonen can gain self-confidence from the regular season, where her winning percentage was the best of the goalkeepers who played more than four matches. In his 27 matches, Halonen’s percentage was a handsome 76, while Garteig was 43.

– It’s the sum of many coincidences, Halonen says from her statistics.

– As a team, we have shown that we can play a winning slut, so why not play it on the players.

The victories of Halonen’s defensive innings were not based on the team’s success alone.

Riihimäki’s Kiekko-Nikkari breeder has built his career with moderate determination, sometimes looking for a routine in Mestis as well. Halonen has developed in versatile movement, which brings calmness to his game.

Halonen praises the goalkeeper coach Jan Lundellin work ethic and passion as a coach.

– Quite the pinnacle of their work – I argue that quite the elite of the League. An invaluable guy for us IFK goalkeepers, Halonen smokes.

“Evenly confident”

After the experienced Garteig sideline, HIFK’s goalkeepers are Halonen, 23, Roope Taponen21, and Eemil Vinni16.

– We’ve had this quartet since the beginning. Sure, it always seems like someone is out because of an injury, but “Nippe” has played really well. He has been at “Lunkka” for a long time and has made steady rise, HIFK head coach Ville Peltonen praises.

– He has been a consistently confident performer all season. One sign of a good job is the choice for the EHT team, Peltonen reminds of Halonen’s choice as the third guard of the Lions for the Moscow tournament.

There have been some difficulties in Halonen’s period.

– He has experienced the same challenges as the whole team. At times, there have been long breaks from games and a problem with training when there have been illnesses and more, Peltonen points to the corona spiral that hit HIFK in the winter.

– But now it looks good.

Hard attack

However, the box office trio is exceptionally inexperienced in terms of the championship candidate’s playoffs. Not only are the goalkeepers young, none of them have played any League playoffs yet.

– It’s true, but you don’t have to think about it. A similar slut is played as before, Peltonen eases the topic.

Many teams strengthened their molar division below the transfer limit in early March, as if for safety.

HIFK did not do so but invested in an attack which, as a result of the acquisitions (Reid Gardiner, Iiro Pakarinen, Teemu Turunen, Miikka Salomäki) is the toughest in league history.

Garteig’s injury came in a bad seam. The next few weeks will see if the sports director succeeds Tobias Salmelaisen gamble.

– Halonen has a good, calm way of doing things. Something about Lundell’s filing seems to have passed on to him as well, Peltonen vows to believe.

Hot series

In the semi-finals series starting in Turku on Sunday, HIFK will face TPS.

In the regular season, the people of Turku were better with victories 3–1. The Playoff series could become hot when it flared between the teams as early as winter: 131 ice hours were distributed in the TPS-HIFK match during Christmas.

– A high-level team is coming up, but on the other hand, it is a team where everyone else is. This is a good challenge for us, Halonen says.

– TPS attackers have skill and intrigue, but also straightforwardness. They want to score goals, and I’m trying to stop them.