Puckarinen Hits A Post http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/ en risto@ristopakarinen.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-24T17:15:18+00:00 Under pressure http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/under_pressure/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/under_pressure/ Pressure – pushing down on me Pressing down on you, no man ask for Under pressure - that burns a building down Splits a family in two Puts people on streets – Queen, “Under pressure” Playoff race is on, and for many teams, that means that the pressure, too, is on. But going for a playoff spot and missing it, while sure a disappointing experience, is nothing compared to the pressure that a team trying to avoid relegation feels. Even with the pressure, a missed playoff spot is just a missed opportunity to get to the throne. Life goes on. A relegation form the top division, on the other hand, is the end, a complete dismissal from the court, a disaster on all levels. That’s why Stockholm’s Djurgården (and its fans) are starting to feel the panic. Even the thought of playing for their spot in the Elitserien is frightening, even if there’s still a good chance that they will finish in the top 2 of the double round-robin against the best teams in the second division, and play in the Elitserien next season as well. Pressure – pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
– Queen, “Under pressure”

Playoff race is on, and for many teams, that means that the pressure, too, is on. But going for a playoff spot and missing it, while sure a disappointing experience, is nothing compared to the pressure that a team trying to avoid relegation feels.

Even with the pressure, a missed playoff spot is just a missed opportunity to get to the throne. Life goes on.

A relegation form the top division, on the other hand, is the end, a complete dismissal from the court, a disaster on all levels.

That’s why Stockholm’s Djurgården (and its fans) are starting to feel the panic. Even the thought of playing for their spot in the Elitserien is frightening, even if there’s still a good chance that they will finish in the top 2 of the double round-robin against the best teams in the second division, and play in the Elitserien next season as well.

Continue reading "Under pressure"

]]> 2012-02-24T17:15:18+00:00 Puckarinen National treasures http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/national_treasures/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/national_treasures/ On May 7, 1995, Ville Peltonen, the son of a Finnish national team player Esa, had a big dream come true. Anyone who’s ever played road hockey has also dreamed about scoring that Stanley Cup winning goal, or becoming a new Paul Henderson (or his equivalent in your country) by scoring a big goal for the national team. Some of us take it a step further, and dream of scoring a hat trick. And for some, the dreams do come true, because that’s exactly what Peltonen, then 21, did. He scored a hat trick in the 1995 World Championship final, as Finland beat Sweden 4-1. What made his hat trick a once-in-a-lifetime moment was the fact that that had also been a million other people’s dream, and for a good portion of Finns, an impossible dream. On May 7, 1995, Ville Peltonen, the son of a Finnish national team player Esa, had a big dream come true. Anyone who’s ever played road hockey has also dreamed about scoring that Stanley Cup winning goal, or becoming a new Paul Henderson (or his equivalent in your country) by scoring a big goal for the national team.

Some of us take it a step further, and dream of scoring a hat trick.

And for some, the dreams do come true, because that’s exactly what Peltonen, then 21, did. He scored a hat trick in the 1995 World Championship final, as Finland beat Sweden 4-1. What made his hat trick a once-in-a-lifetime moment was the fact that that had also been a million other people’s dream, and for a good portion of Finns, an impossible dream.

Continue reading "National treasures"

]]> 2012-02-16T15:59:08+00:00 Puckarinen Finland’s classic winters http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/finlands_classic_winters/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/finlands_classic_winters/ And that was the second Finnish Winter Classic. A real Helsinki derby, with the reds, IFK, taking on the whites, Jokerit, in front of 35 000 people in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The home team, IFK, won the game in a shootout, 3-2. And you know there’s magic in the air when the nicest play of the game is Jarkko Ruutu’s forehand-backhand deke in the shootout. Last year, the home team - then Jokerit - lost the game so IFK is now 2-0 in their outdoor games in the SM-liiga. While the February 2011 derby was the first outdoor game in the Finnish league history, it wasn’t that long ago the Finnish top teams still battled for points while battling against snow and freezing cold. The league was founded in 1975, as an entity divorced from the federation. Back then, the first indoor arena in the country was just ten years old. In the early 1970s, several of the rinks were converted into arenas, and surprisingly many are still - after renovations - home arenas to Finnish league teams. And that was the second Finnish Winter Classic. A real Helsinki derby, with the reds, IFK, taking on the whites, Jokerit, in front of 35 000 people in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The home team, IFK, won the game in a shootout, 3-2. And you know there’s magic in the air when the nicest play of the game is Jarkko Ruutu’s forehand-backhand deke in the shootout.

Last year, the home team - then Jokerit - lost the game so IFK is now 2-0 in their outdoor games in the SM-liiga.

While the February 2011 derby was the first outdoor game in the Finnish league history, it wasn’t that long ago the Finnish top teams still battled for points while battling against snow and freezing cold. The league was founded in 1975, as an entity divorced from the federation.

Back then, the first indoor arena in the country was just ten years old. In the early 1970s, several of the rinks were converted into arenas, and surprisingly many are still - after renovations - home arenas to Finnish league teams.

Continue reading "Finland’s classic winters"

]]> 2012-02-07T14:30:21+00:00 Puckarinen Smoke on the water http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/smoke_on_the_water/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/smoke_on_the_water/ When I was 17, many moons ago, I lived in a small Finnish town called Joensuu, in the eastern part of the country, about an hour from the Russian border. Except that it wasn’t the Russian border, it was the Soviet border, and it wasn’t such a big of a deal. There’s nothing on the other side of the border, anyway, just forest. There’s nothing else in about a hundred mile radius from the city. There was no Internet, and therefore no YouTube, but there was rock’n’roll so my friends and I spent a lot of time sitting in each others’ rooms listening to tapes and records, and swapping tapes and records with each other. And trying to learn those first few chords to Smoke on the Water. (As it happens, still the only chords I know). When I was 17, many moons ago, I lived in a small Finnish town called Joensuu, in the eastern part of the country, about an hour from the Russian border. Except that it wasn’t the Russian border, it was the Soviet border, and it wasn’t such a big of a deal. There’s nothing on the other side of the border, anyway, just forest. There’s nothing else in about a hundred mile radius from the city.

There was no Internet, and therefore no YouTube, but there was rock’n’roll so my friends and I spent a lot of time sitting in each others’ rooms listening to tapes and records, and swapping tapes and records with each other.

And trying to learn those first few chords to Smoke on the Water.

(As it happens, still the only chords I know).

Continue reading "Smoke on the water"

]]> 2012-01-26T15:20:11+00:00 Puckarinen Chance and circumstance http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/chance_and_circumstance/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/chance_and_circumstance/ Last week in Sweden, some 600 000 people stayed up or got up in the middle of the night to watch the World Juniors final between Sweden and Russia on TV. The average was 530 000 and by the time Mika Zibanejad beat Andrei Makarov in the Russian net, 600 000 people had tuned in. And the way the game ended, it was obviously worth losing some sleep. After the game, Sweden’s Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall said that Zibanejad had told him before the game that he’d “finish this game off.’’ A bold prediction coming from a player who had scored just three goals in the tournament, against Latvia and Slovakia – but he backed it up. “I [repeated it to Boyce-Rotevall] before the overtime too so it was good to get that goal,’’ Zibanejad said. “You have to decide if you want to win this. In the morning, it was a joke, but obviously it’s not a joke anymore.” No, it’s no joke. And every time we repeat it, it becomes a little more of a truth until it becomes a true legend. Last week in Sweden, some 600 000 people stayed up or got up in the middle of the night to watch the World Juniors final between Sweden and Russia on TV. The average was 530 000 and by the time Mika Zibanejad beat Andrei Makarov in the Russian net, 600 000 people had tuned in.

And the way the game ended, it was obviously worth losing some sleep.

After the game, Sweden’s Jeremy Boyce-Rotevall said that Zibanejad had told him before the game that he’d “finish this game off.’’ A bold prediction coming from a player who had scored just three goals in the tournament, against Latvia and Slovakia – but he backed it up.

“I [repeated it to Boyce-Rotevall] before the overtime too so it was good to get that goal,’’ Zibanejad said. “You have to decide if you want to win this. In the morning, it was a joke, but obviously it’s not a joke anymore.”

No, it’s no joke. And every time we repeat it, it becomes a little more of a truth until it becomes a true legend.

Continue reading "Chance and circumstance"

]]> 2012-01-10T14:10:01+00:00 Puckarinen The Christmas miracle http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/the_christmas_miracle/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/the_christmas_miracle/ A part of hockey’s lure has to be in the equipment. There’s something magical in the ritual of putting on all that gear that looks nothing like anything in the real world. When I was four years old, following my father to hockey games in Helsinki, I was fascinated by goalies who, to me, looked like freaks of nature. I mean, where did these people live? I had never seen such creatures - with their wide legs, their chubby upper bodies, and their big, blocky hands - out on the streets. Then one time, I asked my father about it and was surprised to hear that the players wore equipment only on the ice. A part of hockey’s lure has to be in the equipment. There’s something magical in the ritual of putting on all that gear that looks nothing like anything in the real world.

When I was four years old, following my father to hockey games in Helsinki, I was fascinated by goalies who, to me, looked like freaks of nature. I mean, where did these people live? I had never seen such creatures - with their wide legs, their chubby upper bodies, and their big, blocky hands - out on the streets.

Then one time, I asked my father about it and was surprised to hear that the players wore equipment only on the ice.

Continue reading "The Christmas miracle"

]]> 2011-12-24T17:05:05+00:00 Puckarinen Nothing in the tank http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/nothing_in_the_tank/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/nothing_in_the_tank/ On December 26, the Swedish Television (SVT) will broadcast their brand new, hour-long Peter Forsberg documentary. Last Saturday, they let it slip to the general public that Peter Forsberg admitted Team’s Sweden’s tanking a game to get a better opponent in the quarterfinals. Not that it was a big surprise. All the signs were there. The Swedes rested their starting goaltender - who didn’t even dress for the game - , they were outshot by almost 20 shots, and the intensity just wasn’t there. But, who could blame them, they had already secured their spot in the playoff stage of the tournament, and a loss gave them an easier opponent, while also pitting its strongest competitors against each other. But what I don’t understand is how Peter Forsberg could know that Tre Kronor tanked the game, when he didn’t even play in the tournament? Oh, oh, he wasn’t talking about the 2011 World Championship in which Sweden conveniently lost to Canada 3-2? On December 26, the Swedish Television (SVT) will broadcast their brand new, hour-long Peter Forsberg documentary. Last Saturday, they let it slip to the general public that Peter Forsberg admitted Team’s Sweden’s tanking a game to get a better opponent in the quarterfinals.

Not that it was a big surprise. All the signs were there. The Swedes rested their starting goaltender - who didn’t even dress for the game - , they were outshot by almost 20 shots, and the intensity just wasn’t there. But, who could blame them, they had already secured their spot in the playoff stage of the tournament, and a loss gave them an easier opponent, while also pitting its strongest competitors against each other.

But what I don’t understand is how Peter Forsberg could know that Tre Kronor tanked the game, when he didn’t even play in the tournament?

Oh, oh, he wasn’t talking about the 2011 World Championship in which Sweden conveniently lost to Canada 3-2?

Continue reading "Nothing in the tank"

]]> 2011-12-19T15:05:35+00:00 Puckarinen Nordic Fight Club http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/nordic_fight_club/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/nordic_fight_club/ Fighting’s been a hot topic in many hockey markets recently. The KHL has had its share of it with the Vityaz team creating havoc on and off the ice, and not for the first time - and dare I predict - not for the last. The Wikipedia tells me that Vityaz “is a Russian term for a valiant warrior or knight [and] usually given to a man who owns a horse and proves himself in battle”. Now the KHL is looking to take the horses away from some of the Vityaz players, making them take a walk from the league. In the Finnish SM-liiga, Helsinki IFK and Lahti Pelicans broke the league record in penalty minutes in a game when fights broke out in three separate occasions within eight seconds (of time on the game clock), including 16 players. The league disciplinary committee handed out suspensions to 14 players and both head coaches, Petri Matikainen (HIFK) and Kai Suikkanen (Pelicans). Between the actual incident and the suspensions, the hockey fight debate was already in full swing. Fighting’s been a hot topic in many hockey markets recently. The KHL has had its share of it with the Vityaz team creating havoc on and off the ice, and not for the first time - and dare I predict - not for the last. The Wikipedia tells me that Vityaz “is a Russian term for a valiant warrior or knight [and] usually given to a man who owns a horse and proves himself in battle”. Now the KHL is looking to take the horses away from some of the Vityaz players, making them take a walk from the league.

In the Finnish SM-liiga, Helsinki IFK and Lahti Pelicans broke the league record in penalty minutes in a game when fights broke out in three separate occasions within eight seconds (of time on the game clock), including 16 players. The league disciplinary committee handed out suspensions to 14 players and both head coaches, Petri Matikainen (HIFK) and Kai Suikkanen (Pelicans).

Between the actual incident and the suspensions, the hockey fight debate was already in full swing.

Continue reading "Nordic Fight Club"

]]> 2011-12-07T18:12:25+00:00 Puckarinen The kids in the Hall http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/the_kids_in_the_hall/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/the_kids_in_the_hall/ One of the signs of getting older is the fact that you’re heroes are getting inducted into Halls of Fame. Hall of Fame - all of them - used to be a history lesson for me. Inductees were heroes of the past, way past, and their induction to the Hall made me go back and really see who they were, and what their era had been like. (I hope kids still do it). But suddenly, the present Hall of Famers aren’t old ghosts anymore. The players going in today, are players I grew up watching, and following. The International Ice Hockey Federation announced today its class of 2012. Not only are all the players my big favorites, one of them is even younger than me. One of the signs of getting older is the fact that you’re heroes are getting inducted into Halls of Fame. Hall of Fame - all of them - used to be a history lesson for me. Inductees were heroes of the past, way past, and their induction to the Hall made me go back and really see who they were, and what their era had been like.

(I hope kids still do it).

But suddenly, the present Hall of Famers aren’t old ghosts anymore. The players going in today, are players I grew up watching, and following.

The International Ice Hockey Federation announced today its class of 2012. Not only are all the players my big favorites, one of them is even younger than me.

Continue reading "The kids in the Hall"

]]> 2011-12-02T19:58:41+00:00 Puckarinen Once in a lifetime http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/once_in_a_lifetime/ http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/puckarinen/comments/once_in_a_lifetime/ Sidney Crosby’s return to NHL action last night was one of those larger-than-life moments, especially with the way he capped his comeback with a four-point performance. It was one of those games that forced European TV networks to quickly change the schedule, and pick up the Penguins-Islanders games instead of whatever else they had had in mind. (Sorry about that all you local Finnish/Swedish boys). It may not be a true “where-were-you-when” moment, but it was a memorable event. There are only so many truly unforgettable moments anyway, and what makes those few truly great is the fact that they are just that: moments. Paul Henderson’s goal. Crosby’s Olympic game-winner. Kovalchuk’s wrist shot at the Worlds in Quebec. Tommy Salo’s goof up at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Sidney Crosby’s return to NHL action last night was one of those larger-than-life moments, especially with the way he capped his comeback with a four-point performance. It was one of those games that forced European TV networks to quickly change the schedule, and pick up the Penguins-Islanders games instead of whatever else they had had in mind. (Sorry about that all you local Finnish/Swedish boys).

It may not be a true “where-were-you-when” moment, but it was a memorable event. There are only so many truly unforgettable moments anyway, and what makes those few truly great is the fact that they are just that: moments.

Paul Henderson’s goal. Crosby’s Olympic game-winner. Kovalchuk’s wrist shot at the Worlds in Quebec. Tommy Salo’s goof up at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Continue reading "Once in a lifetime"

]]> 2011-11-22T18:36:37+00:00 Puckarinen