A very defensive game
as HIFK did not get to their normal level of play, probably due to the long rest.
Kiekko-Espoo tried to play physical hockey, but the tone was pretty subdued as the teams, mainly, concentrated on avoiding mistakes.The speedy Kiekko-Espoo players like Jääskeläinen, Ekman and Priachin were invisible throughout the game.
At least yesterday the difference came from better individuals in all four lines in HIFK. I think the most decisive players yesterday were the likes of Elomo, Tuomainen, Sihvonen and Ruuttu
- the stalwarts of the team.
Offensively it was a bleak game; the Jokinen line was uncreative and as the Davidsson line was unproductive the game was 1-0 until late in the 2nd when Hurme scored off a deflection, infront of the crease, on pp.
Individually impressing were Timonen who scored the 1-0 goal and
his shot caused the rebound that Hurme scored 2-0 on. Ruuttu played an top-class intense game and was solid on face-offs. Tim Thomas did some world-class multiple saves on close range.
Stars:
#1 Kimmo Timonen
#2 Christian Ruuttu, Tim Thomas
#3 Miika Elomo