Ice hockey | Tampere's curse haunts Helsinki residents: “These are exciting things”

First the company was on February 26, 2022.

Helsinki IFK skated against Tappara in the new Nokia Arena for the first time. The low-goal game saw only two goals, both scored by the home team.

Brady Austin's and Joona Luoton the hits were enough for Tappara to win 2–0.

Since then, HIFK has been a guest at Nokia Arena eleven more times. And every single match played in Tampere has ended with the home team winning.

On Saturday, it's company number 13's turn.

of HIFK sales manager and club legend Mika Kortelainen says he doesn't believe in curses. Rather, Kortelainen attributes the losing streak to high-quality home teams. Not forgetting that HIFK is a team that ignites.

“But it's also true that sometimes there are places where things don't go terribly well. I have some pretty golden memories myself, but I remember from my career that Jyväskylä was a place where it was damn hard to get points. There was a high-quality and good team there then,” says Kortelainen.

In a couple of seasons, the formations of the league teams live. In the first attempt, they were among the strikers in the lineup this season Micke-Max Åsten, Miro Väänänen and Eetu Koivistoinen. In defense, the lutes Johan Motin and Kasper Kotkansalowas a backup goalkeeper Roope Taponen.

At that point, Taponen had already tasted victory in the Nokia Arena. He was on loan at Ilves when the arena opened and saved the win in December 2021 against Kärppi.

“These are exciting things. Some tubes last a hell of a long time. The home and away teams have already changed, and still the end result is the same,” says Kortelainen.

Changeability underlines the fact that only Åsten has played in HIFK's shirt in all 12 matches at the Nokia Arena. Other members of this season's team have had to miss at least one Nokia Arena game.

On the other hand, club transfers also mean that HIFK's booth has plenty of Nokia Arena wins. Jori Lehterä and Niko Hovinen are celebrating the Finnish championship at the end of last season on the ice of the arena in Tappara's shirt.

Oskari Manninen changed from kirvesbrinto to Helsinki in the middle of this season. He also has a victory in the Nokia Arena as a visitor. KooKoo sought a playoff win from Tappara from Tampere, when Manninen played in Kouvola.

Ilves's Oula Palve hit the puck past IFK's goalkeeper Roope Taponen in the match played in September. Picture: Jukka Ritola / Aamulehti

During Tapone's loan spell Joni Ikonen was his teammate in Ilves. Ikone also has victories in the visitor's jersey from last season against the Pelicans.

Sidelined due to injury Aron Kiviharju won against Ilves in the TPS shirt last season. With a contract lasting until the end of January, the one with HIFK Valtteri Kakkonen on the other hand, he won Tappara with Jypi last season.

HIFK players have also been in the national team: Juha Jääskä and Petteri Lindbohm beat Switzerland in November in the Nokia Arena wearing the jersey of Lions.

But HIFK's hunt for victory has continued. The team is currently fighting with Lappeenranta's SaiPa over which team will take longer to claim their first victory in the Nokia Arena.

SaiPa has had slightly fewer attempts, as HIFK's number of matches is increased by last spring's semi-finals against Tappara and the bronze medal match against Ilves.

Kortelainen don't think losing streaks will start spinning in players' minds.

“When a new young player joins, he doesn't think about such things. And not some new parent either. Someone who has experienced defeat many times may subconsciously think that they have been defeated many times.”

“

“After all, HIFK has a great balance, but all the time it's getting closer to breaking.”

The pipe can lead in the other direction as well. Kortelainen, who is also the team manager of the Lions' team, has also seen the continuation of the winning streak up close.

Jukka Jalonen the team he piloted advanced convincingly in the prestigious competitions in 2019–2022. The episode brought two gold and one silver from the World Championships and Olympic gold. The last games of the period were played in the same Nokia Arena, where HIFK competes.

Joona Luoto scored Tappara's 2–0 goal in the team's first HIFK win at the Nokia Arena in February 2022. Picture: Timo Marttila

Leijonat lost to Germany in the opening series of the 2019 Games in Slovakia. After that, no team was able to beat Leijon in the prestigious games until the first match of the 2023 World Cup. That streak was also broken in the Nokia Arena, when the United States was a rude opponent.

Kortelainen reminds us that one thing can be considered certain: all pipes break sometimes.

“The end of the streak is always closer when the next game comes. After all, HIFK has a great balance, but all the time it is closer to breaking.”

The possibility of pipes stretching is also well known in the ranks of Tampere's Saturday night opponent. Jyväskylä, mentioned by Kortelainen, was also a difficult away team for Ilves at the time.

September 16, 2016 Ilves beat Jypi In the match won in Jyväskylä. The previous away win was in November 2006. There were 24 losses in a row.

The Ice Hockey Championship match between Ilves and HIFK will be played in Tampere at the Nokia Arena on Saturday from 17:00.

HIFK was also disappointed against Tappara in the match played last September. Picture: Ossi Ahola / Aamulehti