Aapeli Räsänen emphasized the role of the Tappara legend in the championship: "Charisma is enough"

TAMPERE. One of the players who first got to celebrate the Finnish championship with the Tappara championship team was forward Aapeli Räsänen, for whom the season with the “Kirvesrinnoissa” was the second of his career.

The analytical forward emphasized the importance of veteran players accustomed to winning in Wednesday’s seventh game of the Liiga finals.

– This was a tight game as well, just like all of these have been. Very small margins all the time, Räsänen started the analysis of the decisive game in an interview with SuomiKiekko amidst the championship celebrations.

– We came into this match really well. There was a nice, focused atmosphere in the locker room from the morning and before the game. We managed to take KooKoo’s confidence away well. Of course, the opponent also gets their chances, but we kept our composure and had a really tough third period.

The experience of winning was clearly visible in the seventh final, according to Räsänen.

– It could be, yes, and you could really see that especially the older guys, who are seasoned and experienced, knew how to lead the ship well. They knew which levers to pull, Räsänen praised and added that especially captain Otto Rauhala took on a big role in the locker room.

– There’s a guy with charisma that definitely fills the locker room. It’s almost enough for him to sit quietly in the corner, and everyone follows him anyway. He certainly knew how to prepare the team.

Räsänen considered KooKoo, like Christian Heljanko, to be the toughest opponent he has faced on the Liiga ice.

– A really tough league. KooKoo posed an incredible challenge, Räsänen praised the team from Kouvola that provided such a formidable opponent before he rushed into the championship picture with Tappara.

For Tappara, the Finnish championship was the club’s fourth in the last five years.