Liiga Playoffs: Ilves Dominate Tappara at Nokia Arena to Go Up 2-0 in Series

Ilves Blank Tappara in Game 2 of All-Tampere semifinal

Ilves dominate city rivals Tappara 6-0 in Game 2 at Nokia Arena. Henman, Johansson, Torok post 3 points each, Pavlat earns shutout.

Two goals each from Ratinen and Torok led Ilves to a 6-0 Game 2 rout of Tappara. Ilves now lead the Tampere derby series 2-0...

Ilves made a statement in Game 2 of their Liiga playoff semifinal series against Tampere rivals Tappara, winning 6-0 in their first designated home game to take a 2-0 series lead.

 

The lowest remaining seed held off a late Tappara rally to win Game 1 in what was technically an away game for Ilves. But with the entire best-of-seven series at Nokia Arena, how much home advantage actually matters is debatable.

But in front of their own fans, Ilves made a real case for it. In an opening period full of penalties on both sides, Ilves finally cashed in on the power play after 17 minutes when Matias Mantykivi fed Luke Henman on the right and he finished in style.

 

The Lynx came out for the second period with confidence and made it count two minutes in when Samuli Ratinen carried the puck around the Tappara net before his pass-shot deflected in off Aleksi Matinmikko’s skate.

It became 3-0 just past the midway point when Matic Torok picked up a loose puck at the edge of his own zone and raced away unchallenged before firing home. Then, inside the final four minutes of the period, Ratinen netted his third of the series with a quick one-timer from the right wing.

Tappara came alive in the third period of Game 1, but they fell apart this time. Simon Johansson jinked his way through the defense too easily before lifting goal number five over the goaltender, and when Jonathan Andersson was called for roughing soon after, Torok completed his brace on the resulting power play.

Dominik Pavlat made 17 saves to complete his shutout as Henman, Johansson and Torok each finished with three points in a dominant 6-0 derby win. The result puts Ilves in a great spot ahead of Game 3 on Tuesday the 21st, which also sees SaiPa and KooKoo return to action.