TPS Turku move to within one victory of Finnish ice hockey title

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The brilliance of forward Ilari Filppula took TPS Turku to within one victory of the ice hockey title. Last night TPS collected its second away win against HPK Hämeenlinna, triumphing 2-1 thanks to Filppula’s stunning solo goal 10:20 into overtime.
      “It was probably the most important goal of my career”, Filppula rejoiced afterwards. Before this, Filppula regarded his goals against HIFK Helsinki in the final game of last year’s regular season as his most important. “At that time we secured our entry to the play-offs.”
     
Last year TPS just about made it past the regular season. Beating HIFK to the “charity” first round of the play-offs was the highlight of their campaign.
      This time around the actual Finnish Championship now gleams just over the horizon, even though TPS could finish no higher than sixth in the regular season standings.
      “I watched it with my mouth open. The guy’s self-confidence is off the scale”, TPS coach Kai Suikkanen praised the overtime strike that Filppula delivered after a mazy dribble and the tricking of two HPK defensemen.
      “It is unbelievably courageous to try on a solution like that” Suikkanen continued.
      HPK Hämeenlinna’s Joonas Vihko delivered the puck into the top corner of the TPS goal in the first period, and released some of the pressure on the Hämeenlina side, who had looked anaemic in both the first two encounters. At the beginning of the second period, TPS were awarded a penalty shot and Marko Virtala gratefully took the opportunity to level things up.
     
After that, 45 goalless minutes followed, with HPK producing a good deal more dangerous situations than the visitors from Turku.
      Turku goalie Atte Engren’s role cannot be questioned in helping his team to stay afloat. He made 13 big saves in the third period to keep the side in the match.
     
For all that, it is churlish to single any player out: the entire team played as if their lives depended on getting a result, when in fact they could have been a kind of comfort-zone after going two up in the series so easily.
      The first game in Hämeenlinna on Thursday ended 4-2 to the visitors and they also breezed past HPK at home 3-1 on Saturday.
      Now they have to do it just one more time at home in the Turku Arena on Tuesday, or the finals will continue, with HPK hosting the fifth match on Wednesday.
      Victory and the coveted Canada Trophy goes to the team who takes four wins.
     
Under Kai Suikkanen’s leadership, TPS have matured considerably as a team. In Suikkanen, who was hired from Hokki Kajaani in the middle of last season, TPS found a coach who has enabled every single player to raise their game.
      In particular their performances in the playoffs have been a revelation. The way in which TPS disposed of the regular season winners and last year's champions JYP in the semi-finals (winning 4-2 in matches and thumping their opponents 6-1 in the final game) left nobody in any doubt that they had come good at the right moment.
      For now, only the silver medal is certain, but by the looks of it there is no stopping Turku’s gold train. If they make it, it will be their first Finnish title since 2001.
     
The bronze medals have already gone to JYP of Jyväskylä, who eclipsed regular season runners-up KalPa 4-0 in their sudden-death final for third place last Friday.
      TPS and HPK were undoubtedly surprise finalists: neither team finished in the top four in the league this season, and both of them took out the four teams ranked above them on their way through the quarter- and semi-final stages. TPS actually blanked the long-time league leaders Lukko from Rauma 4-0 in their quarter-final pairing, racking up 14 goals to Lukko's 4.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Turku and Hämeenlinna are finalists in hockey playoffs upset (20.4.2010)

Links:
  SM-Liiga (Wikipedia)
  SM-Liiga 2009/2010 Playoffs (in Finnish)

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