Liiga Finals 2026: Tappara Beats KooKoo in 130-Minute Overtime Thriller

Overtime marathon ends Tappara’s way as Liiga record falls again

Christian Heljanko’s 57 saves and Oiva Keskinen’s late goal gave Tappara a 3-2 win in the longest Liiga game ever, tying the Finals series against KooKoo.

Oiva Keskinen scored in the 130th minute as Tappara outlasted KooKoo 3-2 in overtime, breaking the Liiga record and tying the Finals series...

Tappara clinched a 3-2 win over KooKoo after 129 minutes and 54 seconds of play, breaking the Liiga record for the longest game for the second time this postseason and evening the Finals at 2-2.

After dropping the first two games, Tappara faced must-win pressure in Game 3 at home. They responded with a gritty 2-0 victory, setting up the chance to square the series in Kouvola during Game 4.

Eetu Tuulola took an early tripping penalty, but after Tappara killed off the KooKoo power play, he made up for it eight minutes in. He finished off a simple chance created by Kasper Simontaival, who kept possession and threaded a perfect pass through the defense.

Moments later, Simontaival thought he had scored, only for the goal to be wiped out after a successful coach’s challenge. Tappara didn’t wait long to make it 2-0 though. A minute later, Benjamin Rautiainen worked the puck behind the net and fed Joachim Blichfeld, whose shot snuck past the goaltender.

KooKoo showed they weren’t backing down, cutting the lead with over three minutes left in the first period. Jiri Parssinen’s shot created chaos in front of the Tappara net, and Manu Makela was on hand to get the final touch and pull one back.

The second period stayed tight, with neither team converting on their power play. For most of the frame, Tappara held onto their slim advantage. That changed in the final two minutes when Joonas Oden picked off a loose puck in his own zone, raced away, and fired in the equalizer.

Things got heated in the third period when both teams had two players sent to the box for fighting. With five minutes remaining, Jonathan Andersson was called for high-sticking, but KooKoo couldn’t capitalize and the game headed to overtime.

Overtime nearly ended in under two minutes, but KooKoo had a goal called back after another successful challenge against Joseph Berger. From there, the game dragged on, with three full overtime periods played and neither side able to find a winner.

🚨 Joonas Oden polkee karkuun ja sivaltaa tasoihin! 🚀💥

📺 @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga pic.twitter.com/u1VeuKdeCe

— Liiga (@smliiga) May 8, 2026

Earlier in the postseason, Assat needed four overtime periods to defeat SaiPa, setting the Liiga record with a 125-minute game. That mark was broken tonight, with Christian Heljanko stopping 57 shots for Tappara and Eetu Randelin answering with 49 for KooKoo.

Randelin couldn’t reach 50 saves, though. Late in the 130th minute, Kristian Tanus sent a slick reverse pass from behind the net, and Oiva Keskinen forced it through the narrow gap between the KooKoo goalie and the near post to give Tappara a 3-2 win.

🚨 KESKINEN RATKAISEE! 💥

Oiva Keskinen ratkaisee Liiga-historian pisimmän finaaliottelun neljännessä jatkoerässä ja @Tapparaofficial tasoittaa finaalisarjan 💪

📺 @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga pic.twitter.com/fbSFelrTxQ

— Liiga (@smliiga) May 8, 2026

With the series now tied 2-2, both teams are likely exhausted after the marathon. But there’s little time to recover - they’ll meet again in Tampere for Game 5 in less than 24 hours.