The city of Tampere has been buzzing with ice hockey excitement this year.
First, the entire hockey world came to Finland for the IIHF World Championship in the spring of 2022 in the brand new Nokia Arena, then local team, and 2021/22 CHL Finalists, Tappara Tampere went on a glorious run in the Liiga playoffs, ending with them winning the Finnish championship, their first in five years.
But fans of the other Tampere team, Ilves Tampere, also have much to celebrate. Not only did their team secure bronze in the Liiga playoffs, their best result in Finland`s top tier in over 20 years, the club also qualified for the CHL season and mark a triumphant return to international club ice hockey.
Their return among Europe`s hockey elite also means that for the very first time in Champions Hockey League history, there will be two teams from the same city competing in a season and with that they bring their legendary rivalry for all of Europe to see.
The Tampere rivalry has been the only one in Liiga since Jokerit became part of the KHL and the two teams, Ilves and Tappara, are some of the biggest in Finland, with everybody seemingly having an opinion on who`s better than the other.
Ilves were one of the top teams in the early days of Finnish ice hockey, but since then, Tappara have risen through the ranks and taken over as the number one club in Tampere, winning multiple championships and landing in the top three on almost a yearly basis for the past ten years.
Ilves have won only two medals after the turn of the century. Now, though, it seems that both Tampere teams will stay at the top of the pecking order for the foreseeable future. Both teams are doing well financially, and players are interested, even excited, to play for either club in their brand new arena.
Ilves have been doing a great job over the past few years, with their organisation performing on an elite level. CEO Risto Jalo, Sports Director Timo Koskela and Head Coach Jouko Myrrä have done remarkable things and have made leaps forward with the club in recent years.
Tappara, on the other hand, have been an elite, top-tier organisation for many seasons now. They’ve won 18 Finnish championships, three in the last seven seasons, and had a clear identity which they’ve fostered and maintained.
Since 2012, the club have never finished worse than fourth in Liiga and they`ve competed in each and every season of the CHL since 2014/15.
They also made it all the way to the CHL Final last season, losing the tightly-contested game against Rögle Ängelholm 2-1.
Tampere is now the hotspot of Finnish ice hockey. Both teams have had brilliant financial results which have allowed them to add some big names to their rosters. For their part, Tappara have signed proven centerman Jori Lehterä, who played youth hockey in Tappara colours, but has since made a name for himself in the NHL and, more recently, the KHL.
Ilves have signed defenceman Jyrki Jokipakka. Jokipakka participated in the World Cup, Olympics and World Championships for team Finland.
The Finnish teams are always ones to watch in the CHL. This year, however, is an especially auspicious one since both Tampere clubs have what it takes to lift the European Trophy.
The competition on Europe`s biggest stage is fierce, but so are Ilves and Tappara. It wouldn’t be surprising to see plenty of CHL Playoffs hockey being played in the Nokia Arena this year.