Beating our heads up against the wall.

[kyyrandi]

Since apparently that's what all the cool kids are doing nowadays. ;)

Kärpät got their first win of the season on Wednesday, blowing out Ässät 6-0. Finally! Jokinen got a goal in his first game back, which was also the first powerplay goal for Kärpät this season. And it came in the third period of a game which were the ref was constantly giving out penalties like they were candy, so while there clearly has been some improvement with the PP, it's still not all that great. At least our penalty kill is working somewhat better, and Kärpät are currently third in the league in that.

The goalie situation continues to be a question mark. So far our official starter Backlund has played just one game of the four games played, with his backup, Karhunen, taking the grease for the rest of the time. So far the official word has been that Backlund has some back issues, which don't keep him from playing should there be the need for it, but because no one wants him to risk an actual injury, he's resting for now.
Thing is, based on the three games, Karhunen has really showed that he might be up to challenging Backlund for the starting position soon enough. And from the comments that our coach made after yesterday's game it sure sounded like that might be the case if Backlund doesn't get his ass in gear real soon. Which is somewhat interesting since up until now he has maintained that Backlund is his guy, for all that he has shown the tendency to crack under pressure when it matters the most.

Of course then yesterday's game was something of a two steps back, as Kärpät lost 1-3 against Tappara. I'm still trying to hand on to some optimism. If nothing else, the team didn't just fall apart in the third period, like they did in the season opener, and by all accounts they really made Tappara work for the win. There's a difference in losing because the other team simply was better this time, as opposed because you couldn't make anything about your own game work, so there is that at least.

Then there's also our kids, of whom I've really liked what I've seen so far. As a whole our team is a really young one this year and it at least feels like barely half the team has even reached 20 yet. I've really liked what I've seen of Miikka Salomäki so far. A nineteen year old, whose a winger on our second line, he was drafted by the Preds last year. He has had some problems in previous season with letting his temper get the better of him and making bad checks but at least so far it seems like he has maybe matured a bit, and getting a lot cleaner with his play.

Just because I like spreading highlight videos around:

Plus, he's a real charmer. (Could saying that make me feel any more like a creeper? lol)

Our number one defensive prospect Ville Pokka (drafted second round by the Islanders this summer) has been out of the line up, because of concussion he got during pre-season games, but he did play with our juniors yesterday and is should be back with the team on Tuesday, so really looking forward to that as well.

Now, if only there was someway we'd get Rinne to play with the team for the lockout.. (Which, a damn near impossibility as there's just no way the team could manage the insurance payment's Rinne's contract would require, but a guy can still dream.)


I usually listen to a local radio channel do pre/post game shows online, even when I have money enough to pay to watch them (the channel that airs all games is stupid and you have to pay 12€ for a single game pass on their site, and since free streams for SM-liiga are pretty non-existent, it's the only way, if one wants picture to go with the sound), because they have a lot more coverage and do better interviews, and it's making me weirdly nostalgic.
Like I said in a previous update, I don't live anywhere near Oulu, where Kärpät play. I used to live a lot closer though, before I moved away about five years ago because of school and work and because Northern Finland doesn't really have all that many options on either one. I don't miss living there all that much, it's nothing but dark and cold up there. It's just I haven't had this much exposure to the northern accents of Finnish in a long while, so hence the nostalgia. There's just sort of "these are my people and they speak my language" kind of feel to it, I guess.
It's weird, the things you find you are missing..


The good news of the week; a friend of mine just agreed to go with me to see Kärpät when they come to play Ilves in Tampere on the 4th, so I'm actually seeing them in just over a week! The lockout is just going to stay in place until then, I want to see Jokinen and Demers in action, dammit. :D

Comments

[intertangled]

Since apparently that's what all the cool kids are doing nowadays. ;)
=D=D=D

It's nice that Kärpät seems to be shaping up. And having a good PK is going to help so, so much, so it's good that that's working, at least. The goalie situation seems to be a mess, though. Is Karhunen any good, or is it just that he's not as bad as Backlund?

the channel that airs all games is stupid and you have to pay 12€ for a single game pass on their site, and since free streams for SM-liiga are pretty non-existent, it's the only way, if one wants picture to go with the sound
Ugh, it's pretty much the same here. There's just no way to watch the games unless you pay for them. Since I'm stupidly broke most of the time, I had to pick between following Hockeyallsvenskan or the SEL. So damn annoying. I just want to watch all the hockey, is that so much to ask?

The good news of the week; a friend of mine just agreed to go with me to see Kärpät when they come to play Ilves in Tampere on the 4th, so I'm actually seeing them in just over a week! The lockout is just going to stay in place until then, I want to see Jokinen and Demers in action, dammit. :D
That is awesome! The lockout had better not end before then.

[kyyrandi]

Is Karhunen any good, or is it just that he's not as bad as Backlund?

He's... not bad, by any means. And possibly could be a lot better, if he just got to play. He has let in some easy goals at times, and did a really good impersonation of a vacuum cleaner in his first game this season, but those might something he'd get rid of if he just got the play routine going.

There's also a lot of good in his playing, and he's one of the calmest players you'll ever see take the grease. Which, considering how many hotheads Kärpät has in their roster this year, is just pure blessing. Plus, the biggest difference between him and Backlund; while Backlund can be fucking amazing at times and make miracle saves left and right, there are other times when he's just pure disaster, and then he loses his temper and becomes even worse, while Karhunen will just steadily do his thing day in, day out, no matter the final score.

To be fair, part of the problem might just be, that Kärpät is not an easy team for a goaltender to play for. Not because we not have anyway defensive minded system, because we do, but because Kärpät fans are extremely hypercritical of our goalies. The thing of it is, that once upon a time, at the start of the Golden Years (yes, they are actually referred as such, for real) we had possibly one of the best goalie tandems the league has ever seen in Bäckström and Rinne. And so now, that's somewhat the standard all our goalies are held against, and as I'm sure you can imagine, that's a comparison where very few could hold their own.

I just want to watch all the hockey, is that so much to ask?
I know. Luckily Mestis is mostly just made of fail, so there's no need to think about following them. I was thinking about trying to pony up the cash for a season pass, so I could watch all Kärpät games this season, but now I'm not so sure. Not only is the service provider really expensive, their system is also perpetually broken. I've watched maybe one game, where the stream didn't lag or crash constantly, and if I'm going to just get sound with maybe one picture every two minutes or so, I might as well just listen to the radio broadcast. At least that's free.

The craziest part of it all, is that you can actually go see games live, for cheaper than watching them online. At least if you are a student.