Pelicans got their second away win against Ilves in the semi-finals of the Ice Hockey SM-League. The final spot is up for grabs for Pelicans on Thursday in Lahti.
Lahti Pelicans picked up a tasty away win over Tampere Ilveks in the semi-finals of the Ice Hockey SM-League. Pelicans beat Ilves 2-0 and are now leading 3-2. The final spot is up for grabs for the Lahti side at their home ice on Thursday.
Kangasniemi scored for the first time in the second minute of the game. Five minutes later, Kangasniemi had plenty of space and scored his second goal of the night.
– I haven’t thought about it (paintlessness) any further. It’s great that we got a couple now and let’s hope that we will continue, Kangasniemi said after a long period of scorelessness.
Pelicans held on to the lead until the end
Pelicans lost their 2–0 lead in the teams’ previous match in Tampere, but now the same pattern did not repeat itself.
– There is no information that the Pelicans players got under the skin of the previous match, Juujärvi referred to the teams’ previous struggle.
Kangasniemi saw that the Pelicans played the middle area more accurately than in the previous match.
– We didn’t lose pucks in the middle area in the same way. We persistently defended the opponent’s attacks, Kangasniemi said.
Many expected that Ilves would now be the master in his house, but it turned out differently.
– A shock loss to Ilves. Pelicans’ game plan worked, they were able to eliminate Ilves’ rush. Pelicans’ key players took a 100-0 victory over the corresponding players of Ilves. Kangasniemi came up big at an important moment. A great magician, Juujärvi praised.
“The opponent took a 2-0 lead too cheaply”
– It was an excellent opening set. The start of the second period was weak. The opponent got a 2–0 lead too cheaply, the result started to control the game, Pennanen said.
Pelicans can secure their place in the finals when the next match is played on Thursday in Lahti. If Ilves goes on to win, the match series will only be decided on Saturday in Tampere.
The final opponent of Pelicans or Ilves is Tappara of Tampere, who beat Nujers 4–1. The final matches start in a week, on Wednesday 19 April.
21.18 0-1 Ikka Kangasniemi (Sakke Hämäläinen,Topias Vilén) tv\n 26.32 0-2 Iikka Kangasniemi (Lenni Killinen)