SM-Liiga Play Offs: history has been made

FINLAND – The SM-Liiga quarter finals have concluded and the pairings for next round are clear. The quarter finals offered some surprise as Espoo Blues made SM-Liiga history. Blues eliminated Assat from the play offs after winning game six 3-0. Blues made the play offs after a best of three series, commonly known as pity play offs (played between teams seeded 7 through 10). This is the first time in the league history that a team has progressed from the pity play offs to go through the quarter final stage since the introduction of the system. Blues will be facing off against JYP from Jyvaskyla who sweeped the series against Ilves earlier. HIFK – Jokerit
The hotly tipped series had seen ups and downs and at the early stages it would’ve seemed like championship favourites HIFK were done after Jokerit took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. HIFK however battled back and tied the series and after Jokerit took a 3-2 lead, HIFK forced a decisive game seven. The HIFK fans scored a big psychological win over the Jokerit supporters on the day of the match as they claimed the Jokerit bus stop as their own. The bus stop, usually donned in Jokerit logos and the team’s blue paint changed into HIFK red and was decorated with the cat logo synonymous with HIFK. The game was sold out within three minutes and tickets were exchanging hands on online auction sites for as much as €200. HIFK settled game 7 in the second period by scoring three goals. HIFK took a 1-0 lead after the first when young gun Mikael Granlund had scored on a big rebound left by Jokerit keeper Jan Lasak. The big hero for the night was HIFK’s Lennart Petrell, who assisted HIFK’s second and third marker and scored an empty net goal to finish the scoring at 5-1. This is the first time in five years that HIFK has made it to the semi final stage of the SM-Liiga play offs. HIFK win series 4-3 Lukko – Kalpa
The other series that went the distance to seven games was between Lukko and Kalpa. The series had made a lot of headlines for being a physical affair and saw a lot of fisticuffs between the teams. In game seven, Lukko was the better team after winger, Teemu Nurmi scored twice in the opening period, giving the Rauma based team a 3-0 lead. Lukko also got goals from Lauri Tukonen and Kurtis McLean who recorded a goal and an assist each to make the final score 5-0. Lukko goalie Mika Noronen (formerly Buffalo Sabres) stopped 21 shots for a shoot out. Again, the game made headlines due to the fights. During the last five minutes the referees handed out a staggering 180 penalty minutes. During the entire game seven Lukko recorded 115 penalty minutes and Kalpa 122 minutes. The 237 penalty minutes is a new SM-Liiga record for penalties handed out during a single play off game. Altogether, Lukko and Kalpa racked up 479 minutes during the seven game series, which is also a new record for penalties recorded in a play off series in the SM-Liiga. Overall the SM-Liiga quarter final series drew big crowds. Altogether 157 123 (across 24 games) spectators watched the four series’ unfold. The previous record from 2003 was 150 628 spectators across 25 games. The semi final pairings are: JYP – Blues
HIFK – Lukko Contact the author: janne.virtanen@prohockeynews.com