5 VS 2
5 VS 2
You don´t win games from the penalty box....
TPS 5 HIHK 2, 1999-04-16
The headline tells pretty much what went wrong. Also if your pp squad has a day off and you hardly at get to play 5-5 there´s reasons enough.
When Aki Berg of TPS got sent off for a vicious high stick on Mäkiaho I among most who saw the game felt HIFK would eventually win, but instead everything went the opposite way- Jarkko Ruutu managed to earn, yet another, penalty thus destroying the last reminisquents of the major penalty awarded to Berg.
After that point this 3 h 10 min (under)performance brought now further joy to the HIFK fans.
I stick to my prediction that who ever wins Game 3 wins the Championship. The Sunday home encounter will certainly be a thriller but come the final whistle of the series; TPS will standout as Finnish Champions. This is simply because HIFK can´t adjust their intensity and as the hole Finnish Hockey Elite is for TPS including League management, officials and last but not least the bloody TV commentators.
Outstanding players of the night were:
Nieminen ***
Thomas **
Karalahti *