From: veikko@snakemail.hut.fi (Vesa J Pyyluoma)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey
Subject: Finnish SM-liiga, 1st qtr in a nutshell (long)
Date: 16 Oct 92 20:10:18 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland


Finnish Hockey Championships League - or SM-liiga as the locals put it -
regular season has reached the one-quarter mark.  The standings are as
follows:
		    GP  W  L  T	    GF GA   PT
TPS Turku	    11 10  1  0     51 24   20
Assat Pori	    11  8  2  1     44 24   17
Lukko Rauma	    11  5  3  3     39 32   13
IFK Helsinki	    11  6  4  1     43 36   13
JypHT Jyvaskyla     11  6  5  0     36 32   12
Jokerit Helsinki    11  5  5  1     43 38   11
Tappara Tampere	    11  5  5  1     34 40   11
Ilves Tampere	    11  4  5  2     31 34   10
--------------------------------------------------
HPK Hameenlinna	    11  4  6  1     36 32   10
KalPa Kuopio	    11  3  7  1     34 45    7
Reipas Lahti	    11  2  8  1     28 47    5
--------------------------------------------------
Kiekko-Espoo	    11  1  8  2     18 53    4

*TPS Turku*, three times Finnish champions in 1988-91 have come back
splendidly from last years' disappointments.  Russian coach Vladimir
Jursinov led the team to a record-breaking 29 pre-season friendlies
in 50 days and created a disciplined team with high work-ethics.  For
a reason, too: TPS team is crowded with experienced top national level
players.  28-year old centre Esa Keskinen leads the league's
plus/minus stats with +11; it's only once that the opposing team has
scored while he's been in the rink.  He's strongly backed by the hard-
working ex-Sabre Mikko Makela and the solid scorers Jukka Vilander and
German Titov, ex-Khimik Voskresensk forward.  The team's been
especially lethal in power play.  Even the team's supposed Achilles'
heel goalie Jouni Rokama has excelled.  If TPS can keep up their good
spell, there's no stopping them this year.  The only blot on their
escutcheon is an overtime defeat against equally hard-working IFK.

*Assat Pori* ("Aces") is the recipient of this year's first coveted
Labour's Hero award.  The team has improved consistently as skill and
judgement have met their characteristic brute force and size.  Coach
Vasili Tihonov (yes, his son) has been especially happy with their
goaltending play, as Kari Takko who returned to his home team from NHL
has only allowed 2.08 goals per game with a saves' percentage of 93.69.
The team's freezingly cold home arena "Isomaki" is dreaded by opponents.
22-year old forward Jokke Heinanen specializes in winning goals (3).

*Lukko Rauma* continues to stand or fall along with their phenomenal
Czech goalie Petr Briza averaging 36 saves per game.  The team never
quite found a replacement for centre Mika Nieminen who joined Lulea in
Sweden, although 21-year old left winger Mika Alatalo might become what
they are looking for.  Lukko's problem is the moronic "local series"
extension that the league bigwigs thought up for this year: each team
plays two extra games against two "local" opponents.  In their case
these are the two other West Coast teams TPS and Assat...

*IFK Helsinki*, SM-liiga's Big Red Machine, introduced Canadian-style
hockey to Finland in the late sixties as they were led be the
legendary Carl Brewer.  "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" goes the
saying, so the men in red keep up the spirit of rumble and roll.
IFK has been, however, dangerously dependent on Jukka Seppo's (24/6'3"/205)
line, as the other centres towering Valeri Krykov (24/6'4"/200) - who's
incidentally a 100 % Helsinkian - and ex-HPK primus motor Teppo Kivela
have had a slow start.  This year's unrivalled comet has been 19-year
old left winger Ville Peltonen, whose father Esa totalled 527 points
in the 488 games he played (mainly) for IFK throughout the 70's.
Among IFK coach Harri Rindell's worries are the team's very much
surprisingly hopeless power play.  The old gun Pepe "The Whip" Lehtonen
is already in his late 30's.  Darren Boyko, at 28, starts yet another
season in IFK's ranks.

*JypHT Jyvaskyla* had a disgraceful start, but have managed to turn
the tide after a crisis get-together.  Last season's number two has
been almost entirely dependant on their strong first line, however,
with last year's discovery Juha Riihijarvi and veteran center Jari
Lindroos responsible for a lion's share of the action.  23-year old
forward Marko Virtanen has shown good spirit and scoring ability,
though.  A definite surprise has been the young goalie Marko Leinonen,
who's gained coach Arajarvi's confidence over last year's Team Finland
goaltender Ari-Pekka Siekkinen.  Leinonen's average in 8 games is a
doable 2.59.

*Jokerit Helsinki* has found that the Canada Bowl holders' life's not
easy as last years underestimated surprise success has become the prime
target.  Last season's unchallenged #1 scorer Teemu Selanne's departure
for Winnipeg left behind a gap that according to the team management
needed "2-3 new national team level players" to fill in with.
Unfortunately even five of them hasn't been sufficient as the team's
been hampered by injuries especially in the defense, and generally
uncoordinated team play.  World Championships hero goalie Markus
Ketterer has knee problems, and this year's leading scorer Keijo
Sailynoja (9 goals; an Edmonton pick) is troubled by his back.
Nevertheless the team should have the material to withstand even
losses like these, and is believed to be in an upsurge.  The team is
coached by yet another Russian, Boris Majorov, and has two Czechs in
their foreign national quota as the local habit appears to be.

*Tappara Tampere* was strengthened remarkably after last season's
misery which saw two coach changes and ended in relegation
qualifications (which Tappara cleared gracefully).  Last year's
popular Player of the Year choice goalie Jaromir Sindel - a Slovak -
has brought badly needed confidence to the team's defensive end.
Still, scoring has proven more difficult than before as several old
foxes either quitted or have just slowed down considerably.  Flames-
draftee Vesa Viitakoski and Pauli Jarvinen, back from Sweden, continue
to fight on.

*Ilves Tampere*, Tappara's old faithful derby contender, has fared
even surprisingly well.  The team was in the losing end in pre-season
deals, but has persisted against opponents superior on paper.  Veteran
goalie Jukka Tammi isn't exactly in the spring of his youth but has a
few tricks left here and there.  Ilves' speciality this year has been
over-time: they have 2-2-0 out of four tries.  Canadian defenseman
Michael Lappin started promisingly, but was sent home after 10 games.
Yet another Russian coach Anatoli Bogdanov steers the ship.

*HPK Hameenlinna* lost their three main scorers, but held onto World
Championships star Jarkko Varvio for another year and got Ilkka
Sinisalo from Flyers.  As Czech Tomas Jelinek continues his scoring in
Ottawa, his landsmen Radek Toupal and Tomas Kapusta (translates to
"cabbage"; don't ask) along with veteran centre Mika Lartama (5+9)
have done well indeed.  Kapusta has 7 goals including a hat trick,
which helped to change the team's course after a shocking five-game
losing streak.  But even as their previously faltering (a gross under-
statement) goalie Timo Lehkonen has allowed a measly 2.67 goals per
game, they have lacked that edge to force a tight victory.  Former
TPS coach Hannu Jortikka, a three-times Finnish champion, is bound
to have a trick or two left, though.

*KalPa Kuopio* has truly had a miserable start.  A serious contester
only a few years back has lost a few figures to opponents, a few more
to retirement and made some unlucky purchases such as the Czech old
timer Dusan Pasek whose main talent appears to be taking penalties and
maintaining a remarkable plus/minus performance of -10 so far.  As
the previously reliable defensive end has started to bear a close
resemblance to a sieve there's no end in the foreseeable future for
the Kuopio boys' agony.

*Reipas Lahti* cleared bankruptcy threat last spring to fight yet
another season.  Old man Erkki Laine has led the otherwise youthful
pack to his best skill and knowledge, but this has unfortunately not
been exactly sufficient.  The team is capable of surprises in one of
those nights when everything goes right, and the Czech goalie (yes,
yet another one) Oldrich Svoboda is certainly capable of a lot when
his young defensemen keep their wits together.  Nevertheless already
now the play-offs appear to drift out of Reipas' reach.

*Kiekko-Espoo*, newly promoted Helsinki area team, has found the big
boys' league a hard hard place to play in.  The team has talent, speed
and young enthusiasm.  How far that will take them is another story.
Coach Martti Merra's yellow Donald Duck tie has become the new talk of
the town: allegedly the more dissatisfied he is with the game, the
more the tie shows.  So far we have gotten a pretty detailed look at
it.  Espoo's misery is doubled by their lack of a decent ice hall, as
Matinkyla arena only seats about 1300 spectators, and it hasn't even
been sold out yet.

The regular season's last round is played on Feb 28, 1993.  Eight best
teams play it out in best-out-of-five play-offs until the champion is
found in the beginning of April.
--
Vesa J Pyyluoma
veikko@snakemail.hut.fi