Veli-Matti Savinainen hit his fifth playoff hit in the spring and moved to the top of the playoffs when Tappara won KooKoo 4–2.
Tappara’s soul player Veli-Matti Savinainen received the award for his hard work. Petri Saarelainen / AOP
- The first in the regular season went to the 2-1 lead in the semi-finals.
- Four wins are required for the final seat.
– I try to play my own game from night to night and help the team to score goals and also playfully: deprive, grate, tear and tackle, an experienced star striker known as a real fighter Veli-Matti Savinainen described his role.
– Versatility is a matter for us. I try to give my best to the team every night.
According to an old saying, luck must be earned as well. By the middle of the game, Savinainen had scratched the game by the middle of the game to the point that he already deserved one good luck kick.
KooKoon Peetro Seppälä attempted pass from behind the goal bounced the referee Sakari Suominen through the skate to Savinainen.
– I’m not quite sure if it hit the referee in the final games or if the referee jumped over the puck. Whether it hit a pile of snow or what happened in it, Savinainen wondered.
A 2–1 hit cannot be put on the spike of luck alone, as Savinainen succeeded in bitter and spectacular finishing.
– That kit-kit company was a bit slow. I smelled it a bit and got the puck paint at an angle. The goalkeeper coach (Aki Näykki) has been trained that close up, and from the front corner it went knuckle to the ceiling, he repeated.
The tenacious KooKoo came at the end of the second installment Radek Koblizekin shot levels.
Midway through the final installment Kyle Platzer hit Tappara’s winning goal Joona Luodon (0 + 2) from the passport, and the captain Otto Rauhala nailed the readings 4 to 2 at the end blank.
Credit to KooKoo
After two lavish matches, both teams invested in defense as expected, and the opening round was goalless.
– On both sides, careful and at times even careful gambling, Savinainen described and thought that big bets were seen in the beginning.
– These games have been tight. The opponent plays well and makes our evening difficult every time.
KooKoo, who has strived from eighth place to a handsome playoff spring, has posed a tough challenge to Tappara. Savinainen gave the people of Kouvola an honest recognition.
– The team is full of good players, and the coaching does its day job well. They scouting, how we play, and trying to take our stuff away. Sometimes you go from end to end and sometimes you play chess.
– KooKoo plays good hockey. It dropped the second in the regular season (Jukurit) and gained self-confidence, Savinainen notes.
Terrible pace
The teams will meet next on Tuesday in Kouvola, which means that the first four matches will be played in five days.
The pace is cheeky, and even more cheeky for KooKoo, who lost all his packs on Saturday Petteri Nikkilän injury that ended the period.
Tappara earned himself four days off during the semi-finals, but KooKoo has pressed for 12 days of grueling playoffs – or actually 12.5, when the hit against the Pelicans by the weather players only came in the second round.
– It’s good that the game is coming quickly and we can improve the game. The opponent has had a tough pace of play, and it can certainly have an effect somewhere, Savinainen predicts.
– Or you never know: a friend has flowmode on, so hardly much fatigue feels, he corrected right after.
– The semi-finals in both cases, so the fatigue is in the background and we enjoy it more.