Liiga Playoffs: Tappara Beat Ilves, SaiPa Top KooKoo to Avoid 0-3 Hole
Liiga semi-finals: Tappara edge Ilves 3-2 on power-play goals. SaiPa beat KooKoo 4-2 after fast start. Both series now 2-1.
Tappara stay alive with 3-2 win over Ilves after two power-play goals. SaiPa score three in first to beat KooKoo 4-2...
Tappara and SaiPa both claimed crucial wins over Ilves and KooKoo to avoid falling 3-0 down in the Liiga playoff semi-finals. Both series now sit at 2-1 after three games.
Back-to-back two-goal wins had put KooKoo halfway to the Liiga finals. But a strong first period from SaiPa ensured their opponents got no closer tonight.
The visitors led in the ninth minute. Miikka Salomaki needed three attempts to score: two to beat goaltender Eetu Randelin and a third to prod the puck over the line as Vilmos Gallo tried to clear.
SaiPa struck twice late in the first period. Antti Kalapudas picked out Santari Airola in space for 2-0 with a clean finish. Then, after Kim Nousiainen took a delay of game penalty, Patrik Siikanen made it 3-0 on the power play in the 20th minute.
KooKoo needed a response in the second period but didn’t get one. Three minutes in, Kalapudas set up Henri Nikkanen to bury SaiPa’s fourth.
KooKoo got on the board midway through the game. After Salomaki was penalised for roughing, Oskari Luoto scored on the power play.
KooKoo had two more power plays in the third to mount a comeback but failed to take advantage. They only added an Otto Paajanen consolation with just over a minute left. SaiPa held on to win 4-2 and get back in the series.
🚨 0-2
— SaiPa (@Liiga_SaiPa) April 21, 2026
Airola kasvattaa johdon kahteen!
📺 @MTVUrheilu | #SaiPa #Liiga pic.twitter.com/qOEYxaZUQa
In Tampere, Ilves followed a 3-2 win in game one by humiliating local rivals Tappara 6-0 in game two. That gave them a huge chance to knock out the top seeds.
If Ilves fail to win the semi-final, they will point to Otto Latvala’s slashing penalty as a key moment. He was sent off for the foul in the eighth minute and Tappara turned it into a 2-0 lead.
Less than a minute after Latvala’s dismissal, Kristian Tanus split the short-handed Ilves defence and Joachim Blichfeld fired in the opener. Under three minutes later, Benjamin Rautiainen had time to pick his spot and score the second power-play goal.
Back at full strength in the second period, Ilves showed their quality. Less than two minutes in, Matias Mantykivi stole the puck and fed Matic Torok to tuck home. In the 35th minute they levelled, as Carl Klingberg went through on goal and beat Christian Heljanko.
But indiscipline cost Ilves again. Inside the last six minutes, they were called for too many men on the ice. On the power play, Jyrki Jokipakka’s shot deflected in off the skate of Kasper Simontaival.
🚨 @Tapparaofficial-ylivoima iskee jo kolmatta kertaa tänään! 💪
— Liiga (@smliiga) April 21, 2026
📺 @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga pic.twitter.com/FyZQoDx901
That was enough for Tappara to seal a 3-2 win and halve the series deficit. They did it despite not scoring against a full-strength Ilves for two straight games.
Ilves and Tappara return for game four on Thursday the 23rd, while SaiPa and KooKoo are back on the ice on Friday the 24th.
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