Veli-Matti Savinainen's shower command - uploaded his direct words from his judgment

TPS’s Veli-Matti Savinainen evening in the Liiga ended on Friday with a penalty in the home game against Ässät.

Savinainen rushed at Ässät’s Valtteri Lipiäinen in the final period after he tackled TPS’s golden helmet Leevi Teissala in an open-ice hit, who was lying on the ice for a longer time after the incident.

After the match, Savinainen expressed his direct thoughts to Suomikiekko about the open-ice tackle by the Ässät forward.

– When the current youth come to this Liiga, they think they can do anything, trying to tackle from a dead angle like that. This is not the first time, and certainly not the last time, that this happens.

– Yes, for tackles like that, which are directed at a golden helmet, no matter who it is, there should be some sort of penalty, Savinainen, who schooled Lipiäinen after the incident, defended his action.

On a general level, the six-time Finnish champion, who moved from Tappara to TPS this season, laments his team’s inconsistent start to the season.

– It has been inconsistent. Sometimes we play really well, and sometimes really poorly. We need to find some consistency in this, Savinainen states.

The World Championship gold medalist has yet to open his scoring account for this season. The 39-year-old veteran forward is not stressing too much about it.

– Let others score now. We’ll see when my scoring account opens.

Savinainen signed a two-year contract with TPS in the summer. The continuation of his career after the current contract expires is still uncertain.

– We’ll see, Savinainen settles for stating.

Savinainen’s 5+20 minute penalty proved costly for the Turku team, as the league leaders Ässät capitalized on a power play through Jan-Mikael Järvinen and ultimately defeated TPS in Turku with a score of 4-3. The teams will meet again on Saturday in Pori.

Markus Nuutinen