Ice hockey | Severi Lahtinen, trying kicks, pulled JYP to an overtime victory

Oulu Kärpät lost their victory in Jyväskylä on Thursday, when JYP rallied from two goals behind in the final set of the league match and decided the game in their favor with goals 3–2 in overtime.

Kärpät was duller in the first two sets and scored his goals with superiority.

JYP woke up to fight at the end of the final set, when Tobias Winberg narrowed down. After that, Kärppie’s attacker made a fool of himself Kasper Björkqvistwho got sent off for a knee tackle.

Severi Lahtinen struck with superiority from behind the goal to level the match by Joel Blomqvist through the racket. The same man also decided in overtime after a great performance Sami Nikun with assistance.

“Sometimes you should try kicks, because goalkeepers don’t always know how to wait for them. They come from somewhere in the spine. In fact, I already told the guys in the morning that if you want free assists, score at the end,” JYP talent Lahtinen, who is on a six-game scoring streak, laughed.

Skill player Lahtinen has finally blossomed this season and caught up with overall playing.

“My game has developed, especially in terms of movement. I’ve tried to make more decisions on the move, when my legs have gained more strength. The game has definitely improved through that. I will try to continue in the same way in the future”, Lahtinen summed up.

With their victory, JYP climbed back to tenth place on the right side of the playoff line, past HIFK. Kärpät continues in seventh place, six points ahead of JYP.

League the second worst home team, HPK, continued their sluggish performances on their home field on Thursday. HPK already suffered their sixth scoreless loss in their home matches, when Ässät claimed a 2–1 away win from Hämeenlinna.

HPK has taken only 17 points from its 15 home matches.

The first trio of aces attack Roope Talaja (1+0), Jan-Mikael Järvinen (0+2) and Emil Erholtz (1+1) solved the battle with its power.

“This was a good day for us. From change to change, we were able to stay on top of consistency,” said Ässie’s head coach Karri Kivi.

The Swedish hammer of aces Niklas Rubin became the star guard of the match with 24 saves. HPK’s golden helmet Michael Joly prevented Rubin’s clean sheet.

“It was an even game where we were close, but nothing was left in hand. Aces is playing well, but the game could have ended differently,” said HPK’s head coach Jarno Pikkarainen.

HPK captain Juuso Hietanen once again clocked the longest playing time of the match, 24 minutes and 40 seconds. Hietanen has played in the series with the third highest average playing time.