Tassel-eared pilot Antti Pennanen chose a really young crew for the trip to France.
Jakub Málek started against Rouen with Ilves’ goal. Mika Kylmäniemi/AOP
Ilves is currently playing its last match of its CHL regular season.
The opponent is the Rouen Dragons of the French league, who started the game strongly. Already in the first minute of the match, the home team Anthony Reich ran through the drive and flicked past the puck Jakub Málek too.
At almost two minutes, it was by Rolands Vigners turn to increase Rouen’s lead to 2–0.
The second set also started depressingly for the people of Tampere, because Antonín Honejsek caught a loose puck in front of the goal and slid it past his compatriot Málek.
In the middle of the match, Rouen’s lead was recorded as 4–1.
The contribution of Ilves, who are resting the best players today, in the match is thin, because the team has already secured its place in the playoff phase. However, the determining ranking of the playoff pair may still change with tonight’s results.
Having won only one match so far, Rouen is definitely out of the playoffs.