Joker Chairman Mikko Saarni: “Gone according to the script”

One of the glasses sparkling and back to work. In this style, the Helsinki Jokers celebrated their confirmed Mestis championship on Monday night.

In the fifth match of the final series, the Jokers overturned the Iisalmi Peli-Karhut in the follow-up 3-2 and won the championship with a 4-1 win.

“The goal we gave on June 1, 2023, that is, win the championship this season, it came true. We must be very pleased that things have gone as we planned and hoped. Everything has gone according to the script,” says the Joker Chairman Mikko Saarni.

Exceptionally, the Jokers secured the championship in the Arena in Espoo, where it was evacuated due to the World Championships in the Formation Skating in Nordenskiöldinkatu.

In Espoo, the decisive finale was settled in the infernal atmosphere in front of nearly 7,000 Joker fans.

“It was absolutely unimaginably great. People found a great place and practically a full hut. A few cubes seemed to be empty, but otherwise all the tickets were sold. The feeling was incredibly fine and the result was still great when the winning goal came in overtime,” Saarni mood.

The Jokers were A completely superior winning machine in Mestis this season.

Valtteri Filppula, Juhamatti Aaltonen And the partners -led star cream won the regular season with a 30 point difference and lost only twice in the playoffs.

Saarni distributes the flowers to thank the championship for achieving the entire organization.

“The team’s construction has been really successful. So do the coaching. After all, the players play, so of course they are honored. The whole thing has been great.”

“Suitably experience and suitably young, great and promising players. When the balance is good, then there is a result,” says Saarni.

Mestis However, the championship was only a milestone. This spring, the Jokers are aiming for the SM league.

The main goal is waiting for next week as the league qualifiers begin between the Lahti Pelicans and the Jokers.

The qualifying series played with the Best Seven system will start on Tuesday 8.4. In the Lahti Ice Hall.

“Pelicans is definitely one of the most interesting teams in the entire league. It is a colorful team with a lot of good players and a big player budget. The season may not have gone as planned, after all, this is a really interesting situation,” Saarni says and refers to the Pelicans’ three -million euro bundle.

“We hoped that we are in this situation. This will be a great series for sure. Now the table so to speak is turning from the position of the advance to be a challenger and an underdog.

”

During the season, we made investments in the team and took reasonable risks.

Joker The boiling boiling around me means one thing: the cashier is buzzing and the tickets go through at this point like hot rocks.

The Jokers have not yet been locked up for ticket prices for the qualifying series.

“We are still thinking about and looking at those things. Probably tomorrow tickets will go on sale during the day. We still finish pricing and see where they end up. After all, we are not very similar to the Pelicans,” Saarni says.

“This is probably a once -in -life thing when two interesting organizations play in the spring of big things and the sun is shining. This is a great time for ice hockey and there will definitely be great events.”

In the qualifying series, clubs are allowed to keep the proceeds of the match-unlike in the semi-finals of the SM League at the same time.

“Of course, as an organization, it is also really important for the future that we hope to get the checkout and then take the next step in our plans.”

How far is the sporty button season so far appear in the cashier?

“The cashier is just like we hoped it was. We made investments in the team during the season and took reasonable risks. In the end, our player budget was about € 650,000.”

“Of course, it helps to get these big games that come with a lot of people.

Joker Supporters have traveled to a large number of away matches this season.

From Helsinki, just an hour away, there is an even greater number of Joker fans to play in Lahti.

“There are quite a few trains and buses.

According to Saarni, the Joker’s marketing machinery is also in the spring. Special stories are planned for the qualifying series.

“Yes, we try to think about everything, and I believe that Pelsu is doing the same. This is where marketing teams meet each other.”