There’s the old adage, “when you fall off a horse, just get back on.” Tappara Tampere fell off their horse for six seasons, until they didn’t. As one of the select few teams that have qualified for each Champions Hockey League season since 2014/15, the Finnish side have been through the gauntlet as they have repeatedly failed to make it past the Round of 16.
But not anymore.
Now, in their seventh campaign, Tappara are exactly where they want to be – tragedy has finally turned to triumph as they are within reach of the European Trophy they've been chasing. Looking back on their best season to date, there are a few moments that helped catapult the Finns past their "Round of 16 curse" and into their newfound glory.
When it comes to nail-biters, Tappara take the cake. Twice they pulled off the W in OT (in back-to-back matches) and twice they tied (once in the Round of 16, then again in the Quarter-Finals). In their first OT victory, Tappara battled Eisbären Berlin in the Group Stage. With the scoreboard reading 4-4 after 60, it would take extra time to decide the winner. Fortunately, captain Otto Rauhala was Johnny-on-the-spot to net his club's fifth marker with less than a minute gone.
Their next tilt saw them suit up against Swiss side HC Lugano and for a second consecutive contest the Finns were level after regulation at 2-2. This time, they would need a little more than 60 seconds to score, but it would eventually come courtesy of a Brady Austin powerplay tally.
Two games, two OTs, two victories and four crucial points which would eventually help them extend their lead over their Group Stage opponents and reach the Round of 16.
Having qualified for the Playoffs, the Finns were in familiar territory where they faced off against Swedish side the Växjö Lakers for their Round of 16 clash. Clutch finishes aside, Tappara’s most momentous victory would come against the Swedes and with it the satisfaction of overcoming a challenging club according to Rauhala, who acknowledged, "Every team is tough to beat here, especially the Swedish ones," later saying, "they were also tough players and played good hockey," and ultimately, "we are proud to have defeated them."
The curse would finally be broken for Tappara as they put four – including three third period tallies – past Vaxjo’s Janis Kalnins to cement a 6-4 aggregate win and advance to the Quarter-Finals for the first time in their CHL tenure.
Qualifying for the Quarter-Finals and beyond is no accident as Tappara have played some of their best hockey during the 2021/22 campaign. A quick look at their current stats gives a glimpse of just how impressive the club have been from the first puck drop back in August. They have scored 41 goals this season, which is 3.73 goals per game and are among the top three in goal differential (+16) and top five in powerplay percentage (32.65%).
After dispatching Red Bull Munich 3-0 in their Semi-Final single game clash, the Finns are now just weeks away from the big Final and just 60 minutes of game time away from lifting the European Trophy and cementing their place in CHL history!
More info about the CHL Final here.