The Pelicans defender flew into the yard at the beginning of the semi-final match.
Ben Blood is facing a ban. Tomi Natri / All Over Press
Defender of Lahti Pelicans Ben Blood walked out of the big doors when he tackled the captain of Tampere Ilves Eemeli Finland behind the goal. Finland, who was carrying the puck, caught Blood in the neck at high speed, who finished the tackle, flattening the attacker.
Finland hit the wing dangerously head first. The attacker didn’t get up right away but kicked the ice for a while in pain.
A teammate Otto Latvala did not melt the tackle but in revenge rushed at Blood. Blood received a match penalty, but Latvala was also suspended. Ilves was thus allowed to play three minutes of superiority.
Game penalties are automatically reviewed by the League’s disciplinary committee. After the match, the disciplinary informed about the next step, i.e. it will handle the tackle with an even calmer schedule. Blood is therefore threatened with a suspension of one or more matches.
You can watch the tackle below or here from the link.
The match series is tied 1–1 and the next three games in the series will be played in Tampere, so losing Blood would be a significant blow to the Pelicans.
Not a single word has been uttered about the situation in Finland, which on the other hand is understandable at the time of the playoffs.
After the match at the press conference the head coaches did not spare any thought for the aftermath of the tackle.
– When the whistle has blown, there are no public discussions about what was whistled and what wasn’t whistled, Ilves coach Antti Pennanen said.
The semi-final series, which started at a tight pace, went on break on Saturday. The next time Ilves and Pelicans will meet after four days off is on Thursday.
The Tappara pack survived the cold
The league’s discipline will also take the situation from the game between HIFK and Tappara for further processing. In the final set, when Tappara was chasing the equalizing goal, the defender Casimir Jürgens offered HIFK on his shoulder To Sebastian Dyk. Dyk, who was hit in the upper body, got up quickly and continued the game, which ended with HIFK winning 4–2.
Jürgens didn’t get a break from the situation, but he can get a game penalty if the disciplinary decides so. Jürgens also received a one-game match penalty against KooKoo in the quarterfinals, so as a repeat factor, the defender may receive an even more significant fine next.
Tappara and HIFK also continue to Tampere in a 1-1 situation. The next match will be played on Wednesday.