Ice hockey | HIFK turned SaiPa upside down, it was a pity for two young players

The people of Stadion are chasing sixth place, but the line seems to remain constantly the same distance.

HIFK–SaiPa 9–5

These the results have been banging throughout the season. SaiPa comes up against a back-to-back in the hockey league, and loses. The same thing happened in Helsinki.

HIFK beat SaiPa, who had to be a substitute, 9–5. SaiPa depleted its team as the winter progressed. The head coach left first Pekka Virta and later all players eligible for sale or lease.

The match was all just clapping, where SaiPa’s 18-year-old goalkeepers felt the most pity. Niklas Kokko started, but got substituted after four goals and the opening set. The game was Koko’s second in the League this season.

Kalle Varis played in one league game last season but none at this level this winter. He also had to concede goals when IFK, superior in terms of material, grinded.

Of Kaukalo’s three goalkeepers, HIFK’s Niilo Halonen in the end, it was the one behind which five pucks were thrown, as was also the case for Varis. The match was like the much maligned star games without the associated skill.

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HIFK’s four chain held the flag so high that Alexander Kaskimäki and Leevi Teissala improved their statistics. Teissala scored his first goal of the season, and the relief could be heard all the way to the stands.

The number one center Eetu Koivistoinen made the most of a nine-goal night: three goals.

IFK’s victory over SaiPa was easy and expected, even though goals were scored like in the 1970s. In the last ten matches of the regular season, IFK plays for a place in the top six. The preliminary round of the play offs seems set in stone. The people of Stadion can make it to the top ten, but the checker of six is another story.

League expanded the match calendar to 60 rounds in the 2010–2011 season. Since then, in 12 seasons, the lowest score among the top six has been 93. The Blues finished sixth in the regular season in 2014 and the Pelicans in 2017. Both scored 93 points in those seasons.

HIFK will very likely reach 93 points, but the problem lies in the fact that it probably won’t be enough this season. This spring, approximately 97 points above the critical line are required.

On the way to the top six, you would have to pass TPS and KalPa. Either team can always squat, but hardly both.

The 60 matches of the regular season may sometimes seem like a double marathon in the darkness of November, but right around that time and before that, IFK played itself so deep that there is not enough time to dig out.

After all, it’s good that you can continue the season in the playoffs, even though the minimum level in HIFK is never this low.