KalPa-Blues 3-1 (series 1-0)
Regular season champion KalPa Kuopio had really hands full to do against
wild card qualifier Blues Espoo in the first quarterfinal game. As in
the regular season between these two teams also this playoff game was
very tight. With a bit better moving KalPa anyway earned its win.
KalPa's hero was 2 goal scorer Iiro Pakarinen whose second goal was an
empty net goal.
Pelicans-Kärpät 5-0 (series 1-0)
In Lahti Pelicans "killed" the game pretty early with very effective
power play. Kärpät never recovered from the 3-0 score after first period
and after 4-0 in the beginning of the second Kärpät goalie Johan
Backlund also had enough. Totally Pelicans scored four goals in power
play.
HIFK-Jokerit 1-3 (series 0-1)
In the battle of Helsinki series started same way as last season when
Jokerit robbed the first win from HIFK. First game was very careful play
by both sides but Jokerit had its defensive game better in balance and
managed to score better. In the 3rd period HIFK had to open more its
game and that offered also for Jokerit some good chances.
JYP-Ässät 4-1 (series 1-0)
In Jyväskylä JYP and Ässät offered a tight game. Both team had several
scoring chances but only JYP managed to score. Furthermore Ässät's
problem still seems to be powerplay. In regular season they were only
10th best powerplay team and if that thing is not going to be better
Ässät's springtime will be short.Towards the end the game heated up and totally referees penalized 6 game misconducts.