After seven years and 57 games played in the Champions Hockey League, Tappara Tampere will suit up for the CHL Final. With their one-game Semi-Final contest against Red Bull Munich now firmly behind them, the Finnish side can begin their preparations for how to take down the Swedish side setting the CHL on fire in Rögle Ängelholm.
Tappara’s Tyler Morley didn't mince words when referencing the club's upcoming challengers, saying simply, “They’re a really good club, so it’s going to take a lot.”
But what has Morley most excited is the prospect of playing in their “barn,” as he says, “We’re going on the road to play in their barn and hopefully have a full building because it’s supposed to be a fun rink to play in when it’s full.”
Playing in their own barn has been good for Tappara who are now 5-1 on home ice with last night’s game being a product of good team play, according to Morley.
“Yeah, I think we played a good team game,” he said, before highlighting the fact that it’s been a while since his team has stepped onto the ice: “It’s been tough for us because we haven’t played in two weeks, though, and a couple of guys have been out for a while.”
That “good team game” came against one of the better opponents in the CHL as Munich have made it to the latter rounds in each of their past three campaigns. This is due, in part, to their style of play which Morley assessed as, “a lot more North American style. They get pucks deep, they want to skate forward, everything’s transition,” compared to the Finnish game which, “can be a little more trap, and play a little slower and more control.”
These differences are what set the CHL apart from other European leagues and are what playing in the competition is all about for Morley: “That’s the whole point of playing in the Champion Hocky League, you get the different styles from across the leagues.”
Regardless of whom they play, however, it’s always a good game when you etch another in the win column. Such a win is even more special when you consider who the hero was in last night’s contest.
38-year-old Kristian Kuusela scored twice to help lift his team to victory and for Morley, “That was awesome,” albeit unexpected as he noted, “A guy at that age you never expect that out of him but the whole bench had a laugh.” The 30-year-old Canadian centre went on to praise his veteran alternate captain saying, “He’s a workhorse, so he’ll score when it counts.”
With another tough challenger waiting in Sweden, Morley and his teammates will need to continue to rely on that kind of effort going forward if they hope to overcome the talented newcomers and hoist the European Trophy at long last.