Tappara star Christian Heljanko made an impressive assessment of KooKoo: "The best team that..."

TAMPERE. Tappara’s star goalkeeper Christian Heljanko became the hero of his team in the seventh final of the league on Wednesday, as the Tampere team secured the Finnish championship with a 2-1 victory over KooKoo.

Throughout the season, the star goalkeeper, who had received some criticism for inconsistent performances, rose to the occasion at the most crucial moment and kept KooKoo in check, especially in the second period of the seventh final.

Heljanko had a clear view of what ultimately decided the victory for Tappara.

– We were really dominant for the first 30 minutes. Even though we only scored those two goals, the logic of earning it made the difference, the star goalie said in an interview with SuomiKiekko amidst the championship celebrations.

Tappara’s routine was evident in the match, as the dynasty club, which claimed its fourth championship in the last five years, showcased its best game of the spring in the seventh final.

– In my opinion, we hadn’t managed to get that kind of momentum going in this final series like we did today. We knew we had the capacity to elevate our game. Today, we made that visible.

Heljanko also gave deserved praise to his counterpart in KooKoo’s goal.

– “Kake” kept KooKoo in the game, but I think we defended quite maturely in the third period, Heljanko praised KooKoo’s goalie Eetu Randelin, who had an excellent playoff performance.

KooKoo never managed to mount a real comeback in the final period.

– We stayed out of the box, which was important. We didn’t take any stupid penalties and had several good shifts in a row at the end. We maintained pressure in KooKoo’s zone, so there was no panic in the final moments.

When asked what kind of opponent the league’s spring sensation team KooKoo was, Heljanko delivered a truly strong and flattering assessment for the Kouvola team.

– The toughest team I’ve played against in the domestic league in my career during the spring. Someone has to lose. They played incredibly good hockey and were able to create many chances from game to game. It could have definitely gone the other way, but we were resilient at the right moments in this series as well.

– Now we enjoy, the star goalie concluded.

The Finnish championship was Heljanko’s fourth of his career, returning to Tappara from Sweden after a one-year visit this season.

Markus Nuutinen