Finland: Tea for two

It used to be SSV or Oilers, then SSV or Tapanilan Erä or SSV or SPV. After a few years of several even contestants, Finland again seems to have a national league where two clubs will decide the fate of the title. Rather unsurprisingly, it is reigning champions Classic and new EräViikingit who are on their way to the Superfinale on April 22th.

Classic and EräVIikingit took on each other already in the second round and Petteri Nykky’s team showed their challenger, that they still need to practice some more. Two goals down in the first period, Classic got their engine running and sailed to a 5-2 away win.

Besides the early top game, EräViikingit have impressed beating everyone else and recording outrageous scores like 15-5, 11-0 and 11-1. Alarmingly for EräViikingit, they lost their first-line forward Lauri Kapanen in the game against OLS. Kapanen’s knee gave in and he had to be transported to a hospital by ambulance. It is already clear Kapanen will not make the WFC in Riga and the worst-case scenario means his whole season might be over.

Classic obviously had fine-tuned their play for Champions Cup where they came to two goals from beating Storvreta in the final. After the weekend in Borås, though, they have played with less concentration back home. SPV was able to surprise Classic in their home rink coming back from 2-5 to a 6-5 victory but in their remaining games Classic’s routine has saved their full points even with more mediocre performances.

A peculiar detail about EräViikingit’s merger team is that they have an oversized roster of players with only the best making the first team. A full five of league-level players have been playing ”down” for the club’s farm team EräAkatemia in Finland’s second highest level Divari where Erä Akatemia consequently tops the series with straight victories only.