Ilves’ first ever CHL home game against Swiss team Fribourg-Gottéron ended in a 0–2 defeat. The attendance of the game, 5368, is the highest in the CHL season so far.
Not many positives in the first period
Playing his first official game for Ilves forward Miro Ruokonen was in the spotlight in his first shift. Ruokonen gave a good hit in the attacking end and had a chance to score, but Fribourg-Gottéron’s goaltender Reto Berra was able to make a save. Jani Nyman’s, another CHL debutant, shot produced a reboun, but Balazs Sebok couldn’t beat the Swiss goaltender despite reacting first in front of the net.
The first marking to the stats came at 7.41 when Ilves forward Matias Mäntykivi took a penalty for slashing. Active shorthanded game worked well, but on the last second of the penalty Fribourg-Gottéron took the 0–1 lead. Sandro Schmid’s shot ended up in the net at 9.40 after hitting goaltender Marek Langhamer’s gear and defenseman Jarkko Parikka’s skate.
Just a moment later Ilves received another cold shower. Risky play on the attacking blueline gave the Swiss team an odd man rush and captain Julien Sprunger’s wrister ended up in the top right corner. The visiting team took a 0–2 lead at 10.16.
Fribourg-Gottéron kept on giving strong pressure during the next minutes. Christoph Bertschy hit the post and Sprunger almost scored again from close range, but the home team survived without conceiding.
In the other end Balazs Sebok has a chance to narrow the lead from a breakaway, but the Hungarian forward couldn’t finish the play. Ilves got a powerplay however as Killian Mottet took a penalty for hooking at 13.48. The Swiss team still came closest to scoring, but Marek Langhamer denied Janne Kuokkanen on his breakaway.
0–2 remains
Ilves had a half chance in the beginning of the second period, but Eemeli Suomi couldn’t reach Matias Mäntykivi’s backhand pass in front of the net. The home teams next attack saw defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka slaloming to the attacking zone and offering a good pass to Joonas Oden whose shot was saved by Reto Berra.
Fribourg-Gottéron got a penalty for too many players on ice at 23.43. This time Ilves played well on the powerplay led by Petri Kontiola, but the shots didn’t beat the Swiss goaltender. In the eight minute Kontiola was himself in the shooting end, but Reto Berra made a blocker save again.
The second powerplay chance for the Swiss team came at 31.48, when Otto Latvala was given a penalty for slashing. Soon the game continued on even strength after Balazs Sebok stealed the puck and Christoph Bertschy was sent to the penalty box at 33.06.
Petri Kontiola offered Tommi Tikka and Jyrki Jokipakka chances on the powerplay, but the home team couldn’t use the chance either and the numbers on the scoreboard stayed at 0–2.
Just over four minutes left in the period Marek Langhamer made a good blocker save after Bertschy had a chance to shoot from the middle sector. A couple of minutes later Eemeli Suomi found Santeri Airola on the second wave of the attack, but Reto Berra held on and Matias Mäntykivi couldn’t utilise the rebound either.
In the end the second period didn’t offer any goals. The latter intermission started Fribourg-Gottéron still holding the 0–2 lead.
Berra shuts down Ilves
In the second minute of the third period Otto Latvala fired from the blueline, but Reto Berra saw the puck through a screen and Aku Räty wasn’t able to reach the rebound in front of the net. Two minutes later Räty got a chance after the puck bounced from the boards and ended up in front of the net, but the forward wasn’t able to use the gift. Moments later Eemeli Suomi and Jyrki Jokipakka had very good chances, but the home crowd still wasn’t given the joy of hearing the goal song We Are The Kings.
Ilves kept the command but couldn’t create as good scoring chances in a while. At 51.23 Nathan Marchon got a penalty for hooking and Ilves got its fourth powerplay. Eemeli Suomi, Henrik Haapala and Joona Ikonen tried their luck, but the net behind Reto Berra stayed untouched.
Fribourg-Gottéron’s Killian Mottet gave a good expression of his individual skill in the 15th minute. The forward made a skillful deke one-on-one, but his shot didn’t find the net. A couple of minutes later Motter had another chane, but Marek Langhamer kept the numbers unchanged.
Ilves took the extra skater on the ice at 57.34 and used the timeout at 58.45. Defenseman Les Lancaster had the final chane 30 second before the end, but he couldn’t find the back of the net with his shot.
Reto Berra made 31 saves and kept the shutout. Ilves won the shots on goal 31-18, but Fribourg-Gottéron won the game 0-2.
Attendance: 5368
Next game
CHL games continue at Nokia Arena on Sunday. The second home game of the week is played against Red Bull Salzburg. Ilves beat the Austrian team 2–3 in the overtime in the away game last Saturday.
