The Pelicans–Jukurit match has the stamp of a strong top game.
One additional booster in Pelicans’ success has been the 19-year-old goalkeeper Niklas Kokko, who joined the team from Kärpi. Vesa Pöppönen/ AOP
The most interesting game of the day
Wednesday night’s Pelicans–Jukurit match has the stamp of a strong top game.
Even though the Jukurs’ strong streak has turned into a losing streak of no less than four games, the Pelicans and the Jukurs are still the two best teams in the League in terms of fitness for the last 15 and 20 matches.
Also in terms of games, both have been on such a rise since the turn of the year that it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if one or even both advanced to the finals in the spring.
As a whole, the top of the league is now so even, materially and game-wise, that there are at least five potential champion candidates, and the Tampere teams that ran away in the regular season standings do not stand out from the others in any way.
One additional booster in Pelicans’ success has been (and probably will continue to be) the young 19-year-old goalkeeper who moved to the team from Kärpi Niklas Kokko.
With only the (7) matches he played in the Pelicans, Kokko would be statistically even the number one guard in the League at the moment with a reading of 92.5% / 1.35. Kokko is playing again today and is already becoming the Pelicans’ number one guard. Jesse Kiiskinen, Petteri Riihinen and Leevi Tukiainen despite the absences, the people from Lahti have a strong lineup today.
Jukurit managed to get its key striker, who got a concussion, on national team command Patrik Puistolan luckily from the injury with little damage, while Puistola is already in full playing condition. Today, instead, the team’s number one point man is missing from the lineup Niko Huuhtanen and experienced Jesper Piitulainen.
In the teams’ previous meetings with each other in the season, there has been a considerable difference in results. Pelicans lost their first home game of the season to Jukurei 0–4, and since then the results have been 1–4 and 4–1 in Mikkeli.
Another general note about the previous matches is that the matches have been characterized by quite a lot of goals, as the total number of expected goals has accumulated to 18.2 goals (6.07 goals per game).
In terms of betting, I like to go in accordance with the teams and I am more in favor of the Pelicans than Veikkaus. The best bet seems to be the 1.98 odds offered for the Pelicans’ regular time win. Pelicans–Jukurit starts at 18:30.
The best betting tip of the day
Wednesday’s second attraction idea can be found in Mestis. Even though TUTO Hockey is currently only fifth in the standings, the IPK–TUTO Hockey match has a clear stamp of a top game thanks to the strong upward trend of the people of Turku.
TUTO Hockey’s abundant player acquisitions also make it an interesting opponent for other top teams.
In this match, settings are already being created by force for potential playoff encounters in the spring. I personally believe that the set-up will make the match less scoring. In any case, TUTO Hockey has recently significantly condensed its playing.
More than six goals have been scored in only three of its ten previous matches. In the three previous TUTO Hockey matches, only five goals have been scored in regular time. IPK is basically a large-sized team, but here the setup of the match might cause it to play more defense-oriented than usual.
The teams’ meetings earlier in the season have been goal celebrations (4–7, 3–5 and 6–2). This is now clearly visible in the main goal line for the match, which is set at 6.0 goals.
However, in my own psyche, the match does not necessarily follow the pattern of previous games. The 1.77 offered for under 6.0 goals is an odds worth considering. IPK–TUTO Hockey starts at 18:30.
Games of the day: Pelicans–Jukurit 1 (odds 1.98)
The total balance of the day’s games for the year: 24/53/80%
Every day Iltalehti chooses the most interesting game of the day and the best game destination of the day. You can always find them in the Betting and Ravit section.