Ilves Holds On for 2–1 Win at KalPa, Secures Fourth Away Victory
Ilves beat KalPa 2–1 in Kuopio on Sept. 18; Iivari Heikkinen scored his first Liiga goal, Benjamin Korhonen was credited with an own empty-net goal, and Christoffer Rifalk made 25 saves.
Ilves defeated KalPa 2–1 in Kuopio on September 18, 2026. Iivari Heikkinen opened the scoring with his first Liiga goal for Ilves. A rare mishap then saw KalPa accidentally put the puck into their own empty net during a delayed penalty, with Benjamin Korhonen credited for the goal.
Goaltender Christoffer Rifalk made 25 saves as Ilves held on despite a late push from KalPa and a goal by Jaakko Rissanen. The win gives Ilves four victories in five away games and 11 points from that stretch, leaving the team third in the standings. Ilves drew 4,057 fans in Kuopio and now returns to Tampere’s Nokia Arena for home games against KooKoo on September 25 and TPS on September 27. The win extends Ilves' strong form, following the 4–3 overtime victory in Oulu on Sept. 16 the previous match report and the 4–0 result on Sept. 8 where Korhonen scored a hat-trick.
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