Swedish side Luleå Hockey came so close to winning the Champions Hockey League last night, but Tappara Tampere's controlled and focused defending, with goaltender Christian Heljanko in large part to thank, was the decider as the Finns lifted the European Trophy high into the air while Luleå looked on disappointedly.
That was a hard pill to swallow for the hosts of the CHL Final, since they were only minutes, seconds even, away from tying the game and taking it to OT following two third-period goals that got them into touching distance of Tappara.
"This is up there with some of the biggest moments of my career"Filip Pyrochta, Luleå Hockey
Luleå defenceman Filip Pyrochta talked to us after the game to give us his thoughts on the CHL Final as a whole.
“Everybody wants to play these types of games,” he started, “you go into these games with the ambition of winning, the atmosphere was amazing and we really wanted to win it for the fans.”
Despite the loss, the 26-year-old Czech native rated this as a huge moment in his career.
Looking back at the way the game unfolded, what does he think went wrong for Luleå?
“They really wanted to set and control the pace of the game, they have some top players who know how to handle these situations,” thinks Pyrochta, “their first goal on the powerplay really set the tone of the game," he added.
The D-man spent last season playing in Finland’s Liiga for SaiPa, did knowledge of the Finnish hockey style help him in any way?
“I don't think so," he answered, "I knew how they would approach the game generally, but nothing specific."
"We tried to get them under pressure, but they waited for counters and powerplays and with the goals they scored, it was just a tough night for us.”
Finnish, and especially Swedish teams, are some of the strongest in the CHL year in, year out. Does Pyrochta think the Liiga and the SHL are the two strongest national leagues in Europe?
“I respect all the leagues in Europe, but the SHL is definitely one of, if not the, best on the continent. Regarding the Liiga, Tappara and the other teams battling for the top positions definitely are,” he ended.