Tappara and Ilves clash in season's first Tampere derby at Nokia Arena
Tappara and Ilves meet at Nokia Arena on Friday in the season's first Tampere derby. Puck drops at 18:30.
Tappara hosts Ilves at Nokia Arena on Friday in the season's first Tampere derby.
Ilves arrive after a 2–1 loss in Helsinki. Head coach Tommi Niemelä said HIFK were better in the key areas that decided the game. Luke Henman scored Ilves' goal early in the second period.
Tappara come off a 6–4 win in Jyväskylä. Michael Lindqvist, Kasper Simontaival and others found the net, while Oliver Suvanto supplied two assists.
The clubs met in the Tampere Cup pre-season friendly, with Tappara prevailing 3–2 after overtime. Last season they faced off 12 times; regular-season wins were even, but Tappara won the playoff series 4–2.
Henman leads Ilves' scoring this season with 11+11=22 points and sits second in the league chart. Ilves are fifth with 32 points from 18 games. Tappara are ninth with 27 points from 17.
Faceoff is at 18:30. Ilves+ begins its coverage at 17:30, and MTV Urheilu's live broadcast starts at 18:15.
Matti Tiilikainen, now with Tappara's coaching team, previously coached Otto Latvala and Markus Niemeläinen at HPK U20 in 2017–18.
Catch the full story over at Ilves
