Jokerit took two points from Joensuu. Defender Kalle Kangas got to experience the outdoor game shortly after the World Youth Championships.
Snow I was hoarse from the shots and my breath was steaming in the freezing cold when the Jokerit played in the Winter Classic game in Joensuu on Saturday.
From the match played at the Mehtimäki baseball stadium, the Jokers went their way with two points after the winning goal contest. The victory was recorded as 2–1.
“Both had to play a very simple game. Circumstances forced it. There was a lot of snow and the condition of the ice was not the best,” said the Jokeri defender Kalle Kangas after the match.
Hannes Häkkilä (left) and Kalle Kangas defended with a goal guarded by Henri Risiko.
Particularly you noticed the good condition of the ice when the team's shooters came to their performances in the winning goal competition. If normally when playing indoors, the player can concentrate on his shot, in Joensuu there was already something to do in taming the puck during transport.
The value of the event was elsewhere. There were 3,700 spectators in Joensuu enjoying the wintry event, which garnered praise from both Kankaa and the coaches interviewed on the MTV Katsomo broadcast.
Jokers Olavi Vauhkonen scored the opening goal of the match in the second period was a result of a superior attack. Jokers' best scorer this season Alexander Forslund provided a pass in a superior attack. Vauhkonen took control of the puck and shot the play tool into the net past HIFK, who is on loan in Joensuu Emil Vinnin.
The leveling was crushed by the JoKP Kristjan Kombe with a formula suitable for an away game: the people of Joensuu shot the puck at the goal and Kombe had time to smash the puck into the net past the goalkeeper Henri Risiko.
In the competition for the winning goal, three of Joker's five attempts were successful. He scored the winning goal Atso Lehtinen. In addition, the Jokers were successful Oskari Kalajanniska and Hannes Häkkilä.
The rink for the outdoor game was built in a baseball stadium.
For example Kankaa's game was the first played on outdoor ice. Even though it was ten degrees below zero in the middle of the snowfall, the cold did not come as a surprise.
Kangas says that he did not prepare for the match with extra clothing.
“It doesn't really get cold, as long as you move and keep yourself fresh. The guardians had arranged warm juice soup and cocoa for the bench. Some players had tube scarves and face masks. I didn't use them myself,” Kangas said.
The outdoor game was for Kankaa, 18, another great puck experience in a short time. He returned to the Joker's lineup at the weekend after he represented Finland in the under-20 World Cup.
“It was an incredible experience. As a little boy, he's been watching the games and suddenly on Boxing Day he's playing against Canada and there's a crowd of ten thousand.”
Even after the festive moments, you can't break away from the everyday life of a Mestis player. Kangas said that the return journey to Helsinki was about to start shortly after the phone interview. Kangas estimates that the team will be back in Helsinki after two in the morning.
Kalle Kangas played for the Finnish team in the Under-20 World Championships in Gothenburg.
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