Home HOCKEY LIIGA Liiga Playoffs: Tappara and KooKoo Reach Finals After Game Six Win

Liiga Playoffs: Tappara and KooKoo Reach Finals After Game Six Win

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Tappara Vs KooKoo
Tappara came back from behind to stun Ilves

Liiga’s winningest club Tappara faces first-time finalist KooKoo for the Kanada-malja. Tappara are in a 5th final in 6 years. KooKoo won in OT. Game 1: May 2.


Tappara vs KooKoo in the Liiga final after both won in the semis. Game 1 is May 2 in Tampere...


Tappara will face KooKoo for the Kanada-malja in the Liiga playoff finals after both clubs clinched their semi-final series 4-2 over Ilves and SaiPa, respectively.


After a club-best second-place finish in the regular season, KooKoo have reached the finals for the first time. They won 3-2 in overtime away at SaiPa to book a spot in the trophy showdown and send last year’s runner-up to the third-place playoff.


SaiPa had rallied from 2-0 down to level the series after four games, but a 4-0 home win swung momentum back to KooKoo ahead of game six in Lappeenranta.




You wouldn’t have known it early, though. The home side took the lead right at the five-minute mark when Eero Klintrup’s cross-ice pass was tucked home by Niklas Appelgren. But the visitors made sure the first period ended level after in-form Miska Siikonen and Ville Meskanen combined for the latter to equalise.


Meskanen stayed hot 15 minutes into the second period, setting up Veeti Miettinen to give KooKoo their first lead. Two minutes later, Siikonen was called for tripping and SaiPa capitalised. Maxime Fortier scored on the power play after great work from Emil Kuusla.


A power play each in the third period wasn’t enough for either side to win it in regulation. Five minutes into overtime, KooKoo finally broke through. Joseph Berger’s shot was saved, but with three players crashing for the rebound, Oskari Luoto buried it to seal a goal that cements his place in KooKoo history.


Joining the first-time finalists are the club that has lifted the trophy more than anyone else. Tappara came back from 2-0 down against city rivals Ilves, winning four straight to seal a 4-2 series win of their own with a 4-3 victory in game six.


Fittingly, the Battle Axe also had to come from behind over 60 minutes. After the first period, a game-seven decider looked very likely as Ilves went 3-0 up.

 
Lukas Jasek put them ahead inside two minutes when his shot went through a crowded goal area. The lead was doubled at the five-minute mark as Teemu Engberg cut in from the right and fired home, before John Nyberg found Luke Henman to add the third with under 12 minutes played.


But as much as the first period belonged to Ilves, the second was all Tappara. A too-many-men call against the Lynx three minutes in sparked the comeback, with Kristian Tanus scoring on the power play.


The designated visitors cut the deficit to one after eight minutes when Joni Tuulola’s blocked shot was tapped in by an alert Kasper Simontaival. The Ilves lead was gone before the midway point, as Jyrki Jokipakka had time in the slot to place his shot past Dominik Pavlat.



  
Four minutes into the third period, the comeback was complete. Daniel Brickley met Joachim Blichfeld’s layoff with a perfect one-timer that sailed into the net. Tappara held on to reach another final, giving themselves a chance to win the Liiga title for the fourth time in five years.


The defeat means Ilves must settle for a one-off bronze match against SaiPa on April 30. The best-of-seven series between the last two teams standing then begins with game one in Tampere on May 2.
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