Ilves travel to Hämeenlinna to face HPK on Friday

Ilves snapped a two-game losing run by beating Jokerit 3–0 in Helsinki last Saturday. Topias Hynninen netted his first Ilves goal, Tony Sund doubled the lead with a wrist shot, and Luke Henman added an empty-netter. Mantas Armalis earned his fourth shutout with 16 saves Armalis' shutout against Jokerit last weekend.

On Thursday HPK lost 2–1 to SaiPa in Lappeenranta. Niklas Jussila made his Liiga debut, and Viljami Jokirinne scored HPK’s goal.

The teams met in early September, when Ilves won 4–0 at Rinkelinmäki thanks to a Benjamin Korhonen hat-trick and another clean sheet from Armalis, as detailed in the Sept. 8 match report.

Ilves top the table with 26 points from 12 games, while HPK sit 11th with 18 points from 13. Luke Henman has 16 points (7+9) and is second in the league; Daniel, son of Ilves alumnus Toni Mäkiaho, leads scoring with 17 points (9+8).

Puck drop at Pohjantähti Areena is 18:30. Ilves+ pregame starts 17:30 and MTV Urheilu’s live broadcast begins 18:15.