Classic Tampere did not give Nokian KrP a chance in men’s Finnish Super Cup as they took their first title of the season with a comfortable 11-3 win.
It was Nokian KrP, though, who drew first blood with Jalo Kouvonen scoring after a masterful play by Henri Johansson. By thr first intermission, Classic had overtaken them with Ville Lastikka tipping in Jussi Piha’s pass from the corner and Sami Johansson finishing on a breakaway set up by Nico Salo‘s long pass. Both Lastikka and Johansson would score hat tricks as Classic dominated the second and third periods, building a crushing 11-1 lead before Mikko Laakso scored two late consolidation goals for KrP.
“In the first period, the ball was not in control as the adrenaline rush of the season opener was still there”, Classic’s head coach Samu Kuitunen said. “In the second, we found our game and decided the game on counterattacks.”
Kuitunen’s Nokia colleague Jarmo Härmä did not hesitate to admit Classic is quite a bogey for his team right now. “They have got under our skin and that is something we will have to process. In the first period today, we thought we would be able to challenge them but it turned out we had nothing until the last ten minutes of the game.”
Super Cup 2020:
Men
Classic – Nokian KrP 11-3 (2-1, 6-0, 3-2)
Period 1: 10.10 Jalo Kouvonen (Henri Johansson) 0-1, 14.59 Ville Lastikka (Jussi Piha) 1-1, 19.05 Sami Johansson (Nico Salo) 2-1 dp.
Period 2: 24.13 Eemeli Salin (Sami Johansson) 3-1, 26.08 Albert Koskinen (Oskari Heikkilä) 4-1, 28.14 Mikko Leikkanen (Salin) 5-1 pp, 30.52 Salin 6-1, 36.54 Lastikka (Piha) 7-1, 38.20 Johansson (Salo) 8-1.
Period 3: 45.03 Eetu Sikkinen (Heikkilä) 9-1, 47.04 Lastikka (Piha) 10-1, 48.39 Johansson (Salin) 11-1, 51.07 Mikko Laakso (Joonatan Kovanen) 11-2, 56.08 Laakso (Joona Rantala) 11-3.
Saves:
Lassi Toriseva Classic 2+2+5=9,
Miro Tuomala Nokian KrP 4+4+7=15.
Penaltiest: Classic 0 min, Nokian KrP 2 min.
Referees: Henri Heinola ja Manu Marttinen.
Spectators: 295 (Restricted number because of COVID-19)
Photo: Ville Vuorinen
Watch the game on IFF YouTube channel:
