Kärpät 6-0 Jokerit (3-0)(2-0)(1-0)
End of the first period and Kärpät have a lead that slightly flatters them. Daneil Corso opened the scoring when left completely free in front of goal during a power play. The second came from Oskari Korpikari’s lashed shot from range with Kuusela and a defender masking Hallikainen, and Jonas Andersson added the third, surprising Hallikainen with a sharp turn. A noticeable difference in approach to taking goal chances: Jokerit are very much shoot on sight whereas Kärpät wait to create a good opening. An assured performance so far from Petri Koivisto in the home net, saving sharply a couple of times and even dummying Mike Bishai in front of his own net.
Forty minutes gone and Kärpät are over the hill and away. Jokerit started the second period still in the dressing room and early goals from Toni Koivisto and Kristian Kuusela killed off any realistic prospects of a Jokerit recovery. Not that that dissuaded them from trying. Kärpät’s reaction to the extended lead was to sit on it, and the visitors were not slow to take advantage. Clearly in the ascendancy during most of this period, they created a string of chances which were met by Petri Koivisto’s continued sharpness. His team mates in front of him were a different story, and matters reached a state such that Matti Alatalo felt compelled to call a time out in order to read the riot act afer 15 minutes. The final 5 minutes saw Kärpät reach parity in the play.
At the final whistle Kärpät have a victory that they can never beforehand have dreamed would be so comfortable. Juho Keränen added the sixth immediately at the start of the period. Journeyman Pasi Nielikäinen made his usual contribution to the proceedings by stacking up the penalty minutes, firstly and secondly being years behind everyone else in his comprehension of what is acceptable when tackling from behind, and thirdly not knowing when it’s time to keep his mouth shut. A calm, level-headed and ruthless performance from the champions, and one to quieten further those who were calling for Matti Alatalo’s head just a few games back.
1.10.2008 at 19:12 |
Great site! I run a Pittsburgh Penguins web site — Faceoff-Factor.com — and would love to do a preview of tomorrow’s game against Jokerit. Problem is, I can’t find too much information on the team that is in English, making it difficult to compare the teams.
Would you be willing to help out? If so, send me an email at Defence21 AT aol DOT com.
I’d be looking for team leaders (goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, wins); team record info (games played, wins, losses, overtime losses, points, divisional rank, league rank); team stats (goals for, goals against, pp%, pk%, home record, away record, last 10 games, current streak); and injuries (player, status, specific injury).
I’d also be interested in a 5-10 sentences written preview in the Jokerit perspective. What does this game mean to them, who should we watch for, etc.
A similar preview can be found at: http://www.faceoff-factor.com/pittsburgh-penguins/2057/preseason-game-4-preview-pens-at-leafs
Thanks for the consideration, and keep up the great work here!!
Matt
1.10.2008 at 22:23 |
Thanks for the comments. Rather than pulling out the stats from the SM-liiga web site, I’ll give you a quick driving lesson round it. Go to http://www.sm-liiga.fi, and then to the large blue box at the top of the page. In this, click on “Tilastot” (statistics), which is fifth along the top line. The default shown is the stats for the whole league for this season. On the left are three boxes, the bottom of which says “kaikki joukkueet” (all teams). Click on that and from the drop down, select Jokerit. Next click the green “Näytä” (show) box immediately underneath to show your selection. The table headings are: paita = shirt (number), ottelut = games, maalit = goals, syötöt = assists, pisteet = points, +/- is obvious, jäähyt = penalty minutes and peliaika = average game time. The unheaded letter after the shirt number identifies the playing position: H = attacker, P = defender, M = goalie. By the middle box of the three on the left you can order the list due to different criteria: goals, penalty minutes, etc. The lower part under “maalivahdit” gives you the goalkeeping stats: the headings are a comical mixture of Finnish and English. The ones that matter are O = ottelut = games, GA, 0, GAA and % need no explaining to you, and TO = number of saves.
The league table is on the front page of the sm-liiga web site, called “sarjataulukko” on the left hand side. Click on “koko sarjataulukko” at the bottom of the table. The format leaves a bit to be desired, but here are the columns of numbers: games, wins, draws, losses (all at 60 minutes), goals for, against, extra points (meaning extra time or penalty shots win), league points and then league points per game. The final three columns are something to do with sequences of, or games since last, wins and draws and losses, but I haven’t seen it before and don’t have the time to work it out at the moment.
In terms of perspective, I’m a Kärpät fan and Jokerit are one of my least favourite, shall we say, teams. On top of which, since Janne Pesonen is in the Pens ranks, then I’ll be rooting for your boys. In terms of motivation for the game itself then, putting it bluntly, I can’t see too much beyond the cash cow. For the players, their own professionalism of course, plus the attraction of catching the eye of an NHL scout.
That’s all I have time for now, if you need any more information, biased or otherwise, then don’t hesitate to write again.
2.10.2008 at 5:16 |
Thanks so much!