Ice hockey | Alpo Suhonen doesn't digest Antti Pennanen's explanation in the handshake scandal – an absolution from the hockey legends

SM league club Ilves head coach Antti Pennanen caused quite a stir over the weekend. He and his coaching team left KalPa's coaching management without shaking hands after the Kuopio club knocked Ilves out of the playoffs.

Commander of KalPa Petri Karjalainen later said that he did not find Pennanen's actions disrespectful.

“I know Pendo so well that he does value us. At no point did it seem to me, the coaching staff or the team that he didn't appreciate us or what we did. On the contrary,” says Karjalainen.

“I can't say what was there in the background, and it's not up to me. From our side, the matter has indeed been dealt with and we will move on.”

A handshake after a long and emotional playoff series, there are some of hockey's most ancient traditions. Experienced puck people had a somewhat contradictory attitude to the case. Penna was understood, but the explanation offered by the coach about forgetting to shake hands was harder for many to believe.

“The publicity the case has received is a bit excessive. It seems that Penna is now being punished for laying eggs for those two years in Ilves. This publicity is like a double punishment for that”, who watched the match and the aftermath live Alpo Suhonen evaluate.

At the same time, however, Suhonen emphasizes that the trainer does not forget this kind of habit in horses. Suhonen sees that the handshake was, as it were, the unfortunate culmination of Pennanen's Ilvesen era as a whole.

“It won't be forgotten anywhere. Yes, it was done on purpose. His emotional state was so extremely hurt by all of this. The whole story started when Joko Myrrä was fired and Pennanen was hired. The whole story has been a bit sad.”

Myrrä was fired in October 2022, even though Ilves led the SM league. Pennanen was on the free market, and Ilves wanted to sign a successful coach.

“Tampere has a rumor that he would have gone to Tappara if Ilves hadn't hired him. I don't know if that's true, but last time someone told me about it today. The whole case comes to a strange light.”

“Let's put it this way, professional management, behavior and salaries and dismissals… the situation of the entire SM league doesn't look very good right now. This symbolizes that the league is completely messed up.”

Suhonen is the former head coach of the Lions and the first European head coach in the NHL. In his opinion, the SM league and the sport as a whole need a lot of self-criticism and a serious discussion about the future of the sport. As for Pennase, Suhonen is facing difficult times in the future in Leijon. During Ilves, a huge ballast accumulated on Pennanen's shoulders, and the campaign ended in a heavy failure.

“These two years will never be forgotten. In addition, the problem is that Pennanen has not coached abroad. His understanding of the international puck may be lacking. I can say that after all that, what Jukka Jalonen achieved, Pennanen is faced with an impossible task.”

Tapparan long-time success coach Rauno Korpi didn't see Ilves' defeat live. Although Pennanen's trick is surprising, the experienced coach understands the situation between Pennanen and Karjalainen.

“I don't want to moralize about Penna. The coach had a huge sense of disappointment on him, and through that I understand. Of course, it is normal to face that loss. Which, by the way, is even tougher if you get silver in the finals,” Korpi points out.

Korpi says that he was a bit puzzled by Pennanen's explanation about forgetting how to shake hands, but is a bit more neutral than Suho in that regard.

“When the series is in the middle, you don't shake hands in the playoffs and there were several matches behind. In the emotional turmoil of a moment, the matter can be forgotten. However, I haven't seen the situation, and I can't dive into anyone's head. I can't get a more special feeling out of this.”

Korpi believes that Pennanen will act differently in the future.

“That two-year period in Ilves ended badly. I believe that the next time Pennanen faces such a situation, he will act differently. But Ilves was definitely the team I expected as Tappara's final opponent. In sports, things don't always go as predicted.”

Korven a long-time credit player and guardian of the sacred traditions of hockey Timo Jutila also does not consider Pennanen's decision to be an exceptional foul. Like Korpi, Jutila also understands the great emotional upheaval caused by a huge playoff loss.

“There was such a small childhood. The feelings are so fierce and hard, and that's what happened. I know “Pendo” so much that he must have been around a lot after the game to clap and congratulate”, Jutila reflects.

“The emotional world is always such that when emotion wins, reason does not slip. Again, without feeling, you will never be able to perform at your maximum. Yes, the courts and the players know together that we pull out all the stops and wrestle in the rink – when it's the best of the seven, there is no chance or lottery. It's better to continue.”

Jutila believes that Ilves' great Main Series and the subsequent gut punch took the feeling in the wrong direction.

Jutila, who has worked in the background of Leijoni for a long time, is now giving Pennase a tip before the starting national team training session. It's time to rest – because soon there won't be any chance for that.

“Now it's worth recalling, tearing apart the past season and starting to prepare for the new season. There will be interesting international matches right away, but above all in February this big four-nation tournament in Boston and Montreal. Now first, a proper country holiday and recovery! There won't be a lot of huili days coming soon.”

The upcoming hockey season is quite busy. In February 2025, the tournament of NHL stars mentioned by Jutila will be played, and soon after the World Cup in Stockholm. After that, eyes will already be on the 2026 Winter Olympics.