KalPa Kuopio have a long history in Finnish hockey but they're still looking to win their first title. This upcoming season the team owned by Sami Kapanen and Kimmo Timmonen will do their best to challenge the top teams in the Liiga and the Champions Hockey League. Even though KalPa are one of the oldest Finnish hockey clubs, there is still something missing – a championship title. In 2014 KalPa celebrated their 85th anniversary, but the best result in their history so far is a single finals appearance in 1991, which they lost to TPS Turku. Since that time there have been many ups and downs – KalPa were relegated in 2000, but in 2005 were promoted back to the Liiga, the highest league in Finland.
The most significant season from the last decade has been 2008–09, when Sami Kapanen, NHL and KalPa star, returned after 12 seasons overseas back to the team of his youth. It provided a huge boost for everyone in the team and also in the city.
After missing the playoffs two straight years, the team went to the semi-finals and eventually won the bronze medal in the first season with Kapanen as captain. The next season he led his team to the bronze medal game again, but this time KalPa ended the season without a medal. Kapanen played in Kuopio, which is one of the biggest winter sports resorts in Finland, three more seasons before retiring after the 2013–14 season. But he didn’t end his commitment to the club. The World champion and two-time Olympic bronze medallist continues in KalPa as the club chairman, majority owner and assistant coach.
Kapanen owns the club together with fellow KalPa legend Kimmo Timonen and Canadian NHL veteran Scott Hartnell (Hartnell is a co-owner even though he never played for KalPa). The biggest event for KalPa in 2014–15 season wasn’t a KalPa game, but the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, where Timonen became a Stanley Cup champion for the first time in his career and then retired from hockey at the age of 40. But thanks to their relatives, Kapanen’s and Timonen’s blood will still run on the ice of KalPa’s Data Group Areena. Timonen’s brother Jussi is now a veteran on KalPa's defence and Kapanen’s son Kasperi played over 100 Liiga games for Kuopio before heading overseas to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Kapanen and Timonen aren’t the only famous Finnish players who were raised in Kuopio. You've surely of Olli Jokinen, Teemu Hartikainen or Tuomas Kiiskinen, the latter of which became an SHL champion with the Växjö Lakers. Also Janne Kekalainen, current European Scout for the Nashville Predators, Janne Kekäläinen started his career in Kupio. But none of these players will be available for KalPa this season. Team management has some holes to fill, as more than a half of the team's top 10 scorers from last season, including scoring leader Michal Birner, won’t be back. They've addressed that by adding forwards Patrick Davis and Sami Blomqvist. In each of their first two CHL campaigns, KalPa have failed to advance past the group stage of the tournament – a situation they will try to change in 2016–17.
Group N Skelleftea AIK Vienna Capitals
Sat, Aug 20 Skelleftea AIK (h) 1-2
For the second game in a row, Skelleftea AIK had to get down into the trenches against an opponent that most would figure is below them talent-wise. Two days earlier they lost in overtime in Vienna, and against the Finns they were outshot badly by KalPa Kuopio, but thanks to the netminding of Gustaf Lindvall they eeked out a 2-1 victory. After a defensive first period without a lot of chances either way, Skelleftea opened the scoring with two goals less than six minutes apart – first Henrik Hetta backhanding in the rebound on the power play, then Par Lindholm finishing off a 2-on-1 after a nice pass from Andrew Calof. Joni Niko shovelled in a loose puck to get KalPa on the board late in the second period. In the third, KalPa pressed hard for the equalizer and outshot Skelleftea badly – 28-19 in the game – but just couldn't manage to come up with a point in their first CHL game of the new season.
"It was a very fast game, a hard fought victory," said Skelleftea assistant coach Bert Robertsson. "We came in and we dug really deep. It was two teams that play with a lot of speed and puck skill, so it was a fun game to watch, both for us coaches and for fans. But we're on the road here so we dug deep and we're really happy with the win. A lot of dedication, a lot of heart and a good goalie helps too."
"These games are about goals and the final score, no excuses. Year after year we have a little bit of the same problem. I think that this game should've been enough for a better result," said KalPa coach Pekka Virta. "Skelleftea's routine was easily seeable and of course it bugs me that we got nothing. We also have to see the bigger picture too, where we are coming from and where we are going to. However, neither team stopped behind the goal and it was easy to play a fast game. I think that this was a fine and fast-paced game and it had its wise elements too. We played and held the rhythm wisely too. If we can hold on to that, it could be quite fun in the future."
Sat, Aug 27 Skelleftea AIK (a) 0-4
After a scoreless opening period in which the sides only managed 10 shots between them, the middle period saw slightly more chances created. Arguably the best of the game up until that point fell to Skelleftea's Henrik Hetta, but he missed the target on the breakaway with around 35 minutes of the game played. As the middle period drew to a close, both sides started to run into a little penalty trouble – opening up more space on the ice for chances. With Santeri Lukka in the box for KalPa, Skelleftea looked to make the breakthrough but Top Scorer Andrew Calof couldn't find a way past Eero Kilpelainen on two big opportunities. As time ticked down on the period, Skelleftea finally made a breakthrough. Coming in on a rush, Joakim Lindstrom found Niclas Burstrom who poked the puck past Kilpelainen at the second attempt to put his side 1-0 ahead at 39:45. Calof did eventually find a way past the KalPa goalie at the beginning of the third though, slotting home at 41:16 to give Skelleftea a bit of breathing room. Skelleftea made sure of the points with a third goal with just 11 minutes remaining. Jimmie Ericsson skated behind the net, put the puck out in front to Simon Krekula who's backhand effort hit the post – only for Pontus Petterstrom to follow up and score at 48:42. Just before the end, Emil Pettersson added a fourth when he was given too much time and space in the slot, writing the puck past Kilpelainen with 3:14 to play.
"It was a tough game. Skelleftea are a good team, they they played well and didn't give us a chance to win. We spent 10 hours on the bus yesterday and looked tired today, but they were a good team," admitted KalPa head coach Pekka Virta after the game. "We'll keep working, rest, and get ready for the next game. Skelleftea play a very tight defence, and it is tough to score goals against them."
Skelleftea march on to the Round of 32, while KalPa now need points when they meet Vienna home and away next month.
Fri, Aug 09 Vienna Capitals (h) 3-1
For two and a half periods, KalPa Kuopio looked to be in danger of being eliminated. However, trailing 1-0 in a game where they needed a regulation victory to stay alive, they got three goals in the last nine minutes to keep their chances of advancing alive. The first three penalties of the game went to Vienna, giving KalPa a great chance to strike first. However, after Mikko Nuutinen of KalPa was called for interference to make it 4-on-4 in the 13th minute, it was Vienna's Jerry Pollastrone who opened the scoring – Eero Kilpelainen got most of his wrister from the point, but the puck snuck through the pads and grew little legs to crawl across the goal line. KalPa had some good energy in the first half of the second period, but the momentum seemed to swing the other way as it went on, and Kilpelainen had to be sharp to keep his team within a goal. As the game moved into the third period, the situation for Kalpa became more desperate, as they needed to win in regulation time, but Vienna continued to play a solid defensive game. Eventually they broke through,and did so in a big way.
“We knew we had more to give in reserve," KalPa coach Pekka Virta said about his team's condition after two periods. "We had a difficult start to the game, as we had a long break from our previous game and the Vienna Capitals had played only a few days ago. We were little nervous and even gutless."
David Kickert wasn't especially busy in the Capitals net over the first 50 minutes, but was solid when he needed to be and he made a huge save off with 8:46 to play. That led into a KalPa power play, where they finally tied it one a one-time slapper by Janne Karanen with 7:17 to go. Vienna then went to the power play with a chance to regain the lead, but instead Ville-Vesa Vainiola scored on a shorthanded breakaway. Then with under three minutes to play, Vainiola had another breakaway and was tripped. On the ensuing penalty shot he scored, which pretty much secured the victory for KalPa, setting up a huge re-match between the teams in Vienna on Sunday.
"We tried to force the play but we believed in our play and knew we have physique left. We knew we would need that first goao and that would change the nature of the play - and that is how it went," Virta explained.
"For the first two periods I was really pleased with out effort," said Vienna coach Serge Aubin. "We played a good game, but made some individual mistakes and they cost us. It's too bad, because we were a few minutes away from advancing, but it's still in our hands, so we'll go home and try to do it there. We took some penalties, made a mistake on the power play there, but we'll learn from that and try again on Sunday."
Looking ahead, Virta said, "Now I believe we are going to make a great trip to Vienna. We will be leaving early in the morning and then play in a warm arena - tt will really test our young team. We have to still improve our game. And I mean passes and having the courage to make passes. We have to get the puck moving because those guys are strong guys and if it goes to man-to-man play, we are not in our area of strength. We need to work smart as five-man units, quickly and cunningly to get more out of us in the next game.”
Sun, Aug 11 Vienna Capitals (a) 3-1It was a tight opening period in the Austrian capital, with both sides having opportunities to take the lead. However it was the visitors who eventually made the breakthrough Miikka Pitkanen with a beautiful move to set himself up for going top-shelf over J.P. Lamoureaux at 17:51. The middle period was again a seesaw affair, with chances at both ends. However, again, it was KalPa who managed to find the clinical instinct to double there lead: Jesse Mannkinen's shot trickled through Lamoureaux's pads to make it 2-0 with 36:27 played.
Vienna skated on to the ice for the final period knowing two goals would keep them alive in the CHL – any less and they were out. After a couple of man advantages that went to waste, a 5-on-3 opportunity presented itself as the period approached its halfway point – Capitals' coach Serge Aubin called a timeout, and eventually the home side's breakthrough came through Rafael Rotter at 50:24 on the 5-on-4 power play. That was, however, just a minor moment of joy for the home fans, as Mankinen struck again just over two minutes later to re-restablish KalPa's two-goal lead with only 7:24 remaining.
KalPa held out for the win to secure their place in the next round, while Vienna will be ruing those late goals conceded in Kuopio when they were only minutes from advancing on Friday night.
Kelsey Tessier, who assisted on Vienna's lone goal, said, “I think we played well till the end. They shot the puck and they scored, but in my opinion we played the system very well. They scored more goals than us and that was the key at the end. It was a very quick game, but that's how we want to play hockey this year. It's good practice for us for the season.”
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