Tappara’s head coach did not digest the trick of the triple final.
Tampere
Tappara-Pelicans 1–2 je. (0–1, 1–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–1), wins 2–1
If the first two matches of the final series did not offer much talk or drama, Wednesday night’s third act in the Nokia Arena was a different story.
In the thriller that stretched into the second overtime, things happened and happened the further the match progressed.
The most thrilling situation of the match was seen at the end of the third period, when the Pelicans defender Saku Salminen thumped Tappara’s star guard with a fierce tackle Christian Heljangon forcefully.
Salminen, 24,’s outrageous jump tackle brought the Tappar residents of the Nokia Arena to the brink of rage. The jury did not give mercy in the situation, but sent Salminen out of the match. The young defender got 5+20 minutes for blocking.
Heljanko was gasping for a long time after the hit, but was able to save the thriller at the end.
After the match, Tappara’s head coach Rikard Grönborg didn’t hold back his words. The Swedish coach was furious about Salminen’s trick.
“It was a gross act (garbage move). The only motive was to injure our goalkeeper. It was a trick of the old covenant. There has been wrestling here during the playoffs, and that’s another story, but that was a completely intentional act,” Grönborg gushed.
“If they want to play that kind of game, fine.”
Do you expect the situation to go to disciplinary proceedings?
“I think you know my answer. It was a clear attempt to harm. He didn’t even try to avoid contact, so of course he had been told to do so,” Grönborg uploaded.
The Pelicans there was a different sound on the bell in the camp. Pelicans head coach Tommi Niemelä frankly admitted that Salminen’s act was worthy of a jet command.
However, Niemelä did not buy Grönborg’s claim of an intentional act.
“There is nothing to comment on, that it is a deliberate trick. Everyone understands that we had six defenders in the game. Why the hell would we have a defender run over the goalkeeper or anything else,” Niemelä answered.
“There is no basis for that. The game was 1–1 in the third period. It doesn’t make any sense,” Niemelä laughed in disbelief.
“Saku is of course sorry for that, and it was a mistake. It turned out to be the right verdict. It will probably result in a ban, we don’t know, but you can say what you want about that. There’s nothing to it.”
According to reports, Tappara’s konkar striker Brother Matti Savinainen went after Salminen’s staple to shout at the Pelicans’ number one hitter Niklas Koko something.
“Well, there was probably all kinds of shouting on the field at that point. Maybe in that situation you guessed that something like that would happen, but I’m really satisfied that all the guys stayed really calm in both gangs. We focused on playing,” Niemelä said.
With two the Pelicans, who started the finals series with a loss, were able to make a big posture move for a three-way match in a tough place.
The Lahti team was practically forced to win. Going 0-3 against the reigning doubles champion would probably have been too much of a challenge.
Nìemelä praised his team’s tenacious performance in Wednesday’s pressure cooker.
“Now there was more reasonable attacking play from us and the patience was better. Our own attacking game did not give the opponent unnecessary superior attacks. I’m proud that the guys persevered and stayed in the game,” Niemelä praised.
Grönborg, on the other hand, exorcises his own impatience.
“Patience ran out in the overtime. We could have played better in those moments, like in the second set. We ran out of patience with the puck in our own area. We did have enough chances to score, but both goalkeepers played strongly again”, Grönborg concluded.
The final series continues on Friday in Lahti. Four wins are required for the championship.