Pelicans continued like the previous matches as tenacious dill meat and stole the match ball for themselves in the finals. The pressure on Ilves and Antti Pennanen grows even more.
According to Antti Pennanen, his comment was misunderstood. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
One of the most shocking surprises in the history of the SM League is only one semifinal victory away from the Pelicans.
The fifth match of the hot series largely followed the pattern of the previous matches. Ilves was again the more dominant team, but very ineffective. The Pelicans took advantage of their few positions and eventually won a wonderful 2–0 victory.
– 61 shots, which is a lot of good, but only 23 saves by the Pelicans’ goalkeeper. Yes, we missed some good spots, Ilves head coach Antti Pennanen tightly.
It has been striking in all the matches of the series that the Pelicans need a significantly smaller amount of work to create goals and scoring chances than Ilves, who are banging their heads against the wall.
– It has been the image of this entire series in a certain way. They are efficient in their own positions, and we have to find ways to be efficient, Pennanen continued.
A good example of Ilves’ ineffectiveness was the lost two-man superiority in the final set, where the vibration of the tassel-eared clubs could be seen all the way to the pipe rack in the hall.
– Yes, we got a good enough place in that too. I can’t tell if it’s compression or what. The squeezing might have been seen in some other stories.
Misunderstood comments
Along with the Pelicans’ fight, the big topic of conversation in the series has been ice fishing, which even Tappara’s head coach has talked about Jussi Tapola stuck his own spoon after Monday’s semi-final match.
Pennanen immediately pointed out that filming had not been seen in the previous matches.
– Did you see the filming today? Did you see the filming in the previous game?
The strong trigger for the whole discussion was Pennanen’s comments in Lahti after the second match of the series, in which he appreciated Ilves’ struggle and staying upright.
These comments were also widely interpreted as strong criticism towards the Pelicans. Now Pennanen was of the opinion that the comments were very strongly misinterpreted.
– There in Lahti, I referred to the values of my own team. I have never talked about filming myself.
– I have also never talked about filming the opposing team, Pennanen snorted.
A place of forced victory
The Pelicans have a chance to wrap up the playoff series on Thursday. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
Ilves, who entered the series as a clear pre-favourite, is now in a tight spot.
It would be necessary to win the sixth match played in Lahti on Thursday, or else the season will end in the bronze medal match for the second year in a row. At the same time, the local final in Tampere, which many are thirsty for, would also go down the drain.
– Now it’s an easy situation when our backs are against the wall. You don’t have to think about tomorrow, but about that one game and winning it, predicts Pennanen.
One very decisive thing for Ilves in that match is whether the team’s star goalkeeper is capable Marek Langhamer to return to the ring.
Langhamer was on the sidelines for all three semi-final matches played in Tampere, but for a while his name appeared in Ilves’ lineup on Tuesday.
– It seemed for a while that he would have been ok. But let’s see.