HS analysis HIFK has more power and power than the legendary championship team of spring 1998 – but one point is far from it

Hockey the last round of the regular season had ended a moment earlier in Lappeenranta, when TPS’s head coach Jussi Ahokas turned his attention to the playoffs.

The semi-finals of the league start on Sunday, when TPS will face HIFK. The lynx receives the Flies.

Regular season winner Tappara will face Rauma Luko on Monday, and the surprise runner-up Jukurit will also start at his home against Kouvola KooKoo on Monday.

Ahokka had difficulty keeping a face with basic readings as he praised the upcoming semi-final opponent HIFK at a media event after the SaiPa match.

The dust of the SaiPa game has landed, but Ahokas stays in his position.

“When you look at their roster, there hasn’t been such an attack in the 21st century,” Ahokas tells HS just on the eve of the semi-finals.

Not only does IFK praise but reminds that TPS is playing with its own strengths from the sequel.

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The defense of the current IFK falls far short of its old example.

Ahokas is right. An attack head and four chains have been built in HIFK to the point where a comparison must be sought for the 1998 championship season.

HIFK took the championship 24 years ago on one of the best league teams of all time. While the current offensive head is comparable to that group, there is one significant difference that says it all.

The defense of the current IFK falls far short of its old example. The Ground floor of the then championship team would be bustling with future NHL top defenders About Kimmo Timos and Brian Rafalski always young Jere to Karalahti. Bob Halkidis brought appropriate toughness and playoff skills as a former NHL roller.

These two downstairs, the present and the former, cannot be talked about even on the same day.

The comparison is not justified by the juxtaposition of the goalkeepers. Tim Thomas grew up in the NHL ‘s number one star, and Niilo Halonen just building his career.

Coronavirus teases the League in the third season, and clubs – including HIFK – are rumbling within tight financial frameworks.

Still IFK’s sports executive Tobias Salmelainen has amassed so many euros that the team strengthened as far as the transfer limits allowed. IFK completely renewed its face before the start of the season and acquired five quality players in the regular season.

Defender Sam Jardine reached Stad for the first time after the Bratislava Capitals tragedy. At that time a young player Boris Sádecký died after an attack on the ice and two days later the sports director Dušan Pašek committed suicide.

The club ceased operations, and Jardine found a new club in HIFK.

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“This becomes a tight series and a lot of tactical elements when familiar teams are at odds.”

Scorer Reid Gardiner came on loan from JYP. The KHL group of jokers spread all over Europe, and the neighbors were enough for IFK Iiro Pakarinen and Teemu Turunen. Pakarinen is an Olympic winner and a two-time World Championship silver medalist. Turunen’s merits include last summer’s World Championship silver.

At the end of the transfer period Miikka Salomäki changed the Swedish league to Örebro IFK. Prior to his Swedish year, Salomäki played for eight seasons in North America.

Something about the team’s new look is that five of the top six scorers didn’t play in the club last season.

I’m following had to recur. Last year’s semifinals were a good but not enough achievement. Nor did it really taste good when the season ended with a semi-humiliating loss for TPS.

The first need for change was Ville Peltonen hiring as head coach. He needed to have a team to operate and succeed. In order to save Peltonen alone, Salmelainen had to work extra in the player market.

During the season, IFK struggled simultaneously with its game and the corona epidemic. The team survived the epidemic, but new players were required to improve the game.

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“Struggle and a lot of wisdom is needed.”

In his career as a player Peltonen has been able to solve playoffs, chase medals and win championships numerous times.

As a coach, the situation is a bit different. Lausannen Peltonen took the semifinals in the Swiss league in the 2018–2019 season, but the playoffs that are starting now are only the second as head coach and the first in HIFK.

One thing Peltonen knows for sure.

“Yes, this will be a tight series and a lot of tactical elements when familiar teams are at odds. Struggle and a lot of wisdom are needed. ”

Well crystallized, but has IFK still had time to weld into a cohesive team after the doors have gone through at the same time?

There is a lot of skill in the team. It would all have to be reconciled, or else the season will end before it culminates.

Read more: When Jukka Jalonen unexpectedly called, HIFK goalkeeper Niilo Halonen came up with only one correct answer: “Then the rules were agreed”