How things change.

Take a quick look at this:

League table before 04.10.11

19 Jokerit
19 Assat
19 Pelicans
19 Karpat
17 KalPa
14 Lukko
14 Blues
11 SaiPa
9 Ilves
8 Tappara
7 HIFK
7 JYP
7 HPK
6 TPS

League table since 04.10.11

21 KalPa
19 TPS
18 Pelicans
16 Assat
16 HIFK
13 JYP
10 Jokerit
10 HPK
 9 Tappara
 8 Lukko
 8 Blues
 6 Karpat
 6 SaiPa
 3 Ilves

What an incredible turnaround it has been. At the start of October things were looking very grim indeed, confidence was low, play was sloppy and players looked disinterested. To be honest, I wondered what, if anything could be done about it.
Then they travelled to Pori and ground out a magnificent 0-1 victory, despite having three players given their marching orders and seeing off a very late goal-that-wasn't. Since then, Tepsi have been formidable, dropping just the one point at home, the overtime win against Jokerit. TPS currently have the longest unbeaten streak in the league. Whatever has produced this turnaround in fortunes?

1. Injury to Schwarz.
Marek had a decidedly dodgy start to the season, being at fault for a howler after only seven seconds in the league opener. It took him a while to get going and he finally got into his stride in the win over HIFK where he was magnificent. Then came a back injury which allowed Ahlqvist an extended run in the side. Alexis now boasts the third best save percentage in the league. He's less prone to grievous errors, such as Schwarz's against Blues on Sunday, and the confidence he plays with has flowed outwards to the rest of the team. Schwarz will have his work cut out to regain his position as starter.

2. Special teams.
As the third most penalised team in the league, the improvement in special teams has reaped rewards. The powerplay could still do with some improvement, but when a man down they look very assured. Ryan Stone has been magnificent, throwing his all into the penalty kill and getting in the grill of the netminder on the powerplay. The improved penalty kill has led to a few shorthanded chances, including the one that led to Tapio Laakso's delightful penalty shot. The improved special teams seems to be a facet of the next point...

3. Better organisation.
Where as the play was fairly ramshackle at the start of the season, these days everybody seems well aware of their job and are willing to commit to it. The passing is a lot more fluid, especially when cycling the puck in the offensive zone.

4. All lines contributing.
Birner-Plihal-Vahalahti may not be the most potent top line in the league, but whilst Tepsi's fortunes hinged on their performances at the start of the season, now opposition teams need to do more than simply shut them down to win the game. The pace and shot of Anttila on the second is a completely different threat to that which the first line pose. Despite their limited ice time, even the fourth line forwards are causing their opponents problems. The performance in depth of the team is of course in part down to...

5. A healthy team.
Aside from the blessing in disguise Schwarz injury mentioned previously, the number of healthy players in the squad has generally been on the up in recent weeks. This adds competition in the squad and eases pressure on those who were struggling with responsibility their talents didn't account for.

6. Scalzo for Raboin.
Raboin left the club at its lowest point. Initially it left us threadbare on an already week defensive unit. However, I can't honestly say that the defence looked significantly worse after his departure. The addition of Mario Scalzo on the other hand has noticeably impacted the defence. He already looks very comfortable in the line up and his experience in the game shows. His offensive ventures seem more productive than those of Raboin, who scurried up the wing whilst Scalzo charges through the centre.

7. My friend Giovanni started going to games.
His presence obviously has zero impact on the actual game, but sports and superstition go hand in hand, so I thought it would be prudent to mention. He won't be at Saturday's game, so if Rauma win, we all know who to blame.

All in all it finally feels good to be a TPS fan in season 2011-12. It looked like another long season was in store but Pekka Virta has done a magnificent job in turning things around. I better start putting money aside for my playoff fund.

TPS Sign Mario Scalzo

Following on from three consecutive home victories, TPS have filled the Raboin shaped hole in their defence by signing defenceman Mario Scalzo. I contacted an Adler Mannheim fan for his opinion on the player. Here is what he had to say:

"Mario for me was just a bit too small for the DEL and although we had him for three seasons, he never really stood out. Likes to jump up into play and has a decent shot from the blue line. Steady without being spectacular for me. He cannot be that bad if he had four seasons in the AHL then to the DEL. Surprised he has gone to TPS though, thought he was on the downward track on his career. He can do a job but does not like the physical side."

I'm looking forward to seeing what he has to offer this Friday against Blues.

TPS 3-4 HPK (AOT)

After last week's game against Tappara I decided not to bother writing up a report and just putting it down to a bad day at work against a side who are no great shakes. We're eight games into the season now though, after a lengthy European Trophy pre-season and there comes a point when you can't continue to put results down to ironing out problems with a new roster and waiting for players to adjust to new systems.
The game started well last night and TPS were dominant in the opening period, with Vahalahti poking home the opener on the powerplay after reacting quickest when Virtala shoved the puck off the post. Following that it really was all TPS. The first line of Birner-Plihal-Cerny showed some lovely one touch passing and occasional individual skill, the likes of which have been almost completely absent this season. Despite the first being one way traffic it was worrying that HPK only conceded once. Tepsi have failed to control a game from start to finish and need to start converting possession into goals.

In that respect the second period was largely the opposite. Having started the period on the powerplay, HPK equalised soon after its expiry. Schwarz was by far the busier of the two goalies and it was against the run of play that TPS fired in two goals in the closing exchanges of the period. Firstly Tomas Plihal scored a lovely individual goal. Charging up the slot with his wingers advancing menacingly, he looked to pass to Birner but instead wristed a hard shot past the top right of Tolvanen. TPS have, at home at least, never looked like creating a goal out of nothing and having been goalless up until that point, Plihal needs to continue in this vein if the team are to be an offensive threat. TPS extended their lead for a second time when Marko Anttila used his size to stretch across a crowded goalmouth and somehow poke the puck goalwards. With a 3-1 lead against a HPK team who, despite long periods of possession in the second, didn't look threatening, I would imagine most in the crowd were confident of finally leaving the HK Areena with a smile on their face.

The third period was largely a turgid affair, lacking any intensity and neither side looking dangerous. However all that changed when Laamanen pulled a goal back with three and a half minutes on the clock. HPK then pushed for an equaliser, pulling Tolvanen. With the way games have been going this season it didn't seem to be much of a surprise when Scott Barney slotted home to send the game into overtime. A point dropped.
The extra session was eighty-five seconds old when TPS took a penalty for too many men. A poor penalty to take at any point in a game, let alone in overtime when momentum is against you. The penalty was defended well for the most part, but as soon as Piispanen netted his second of the night it was game over and the arena was empty within seconds. Two points dropped.

TPS were the better team in this game, had a two goal advantage with three and a half minutes left and somehow threw it away. Finding a way to lose games they are capable of winning is fast becoming a hallmark of this season. It makes you question the mental fortitude of the squad, what exactly is going through their minds and what on earth Virta is going to do about it.
The schedule has been very kind so far, only two of the eight games have been against teams in the top half of the table yet as of last night TPS have replaced HPK at the foot of it. SaiPa and Tappara were both winless before facing TPS, HPK's only other victory this season was the opener against TPS in Hämeenlinna. On Friday they travel to Pori to face a side challenging at the top end of the table. Then the following day HIFK come to town. Despite them having an out of sorts season of their own, their first line is more than enough to worry a home team defence prone to switching off and individual errors.
Worryingly the crowd was 500 down on last Tuesday's dismal display against Tappara. Fans are understandably starting to think this season will be a repeat of last and TPS need to start picking up points at home if crowds aren't to drop off even further.

Finally, the obligatory word about Rasmus Ristolainen. Only Mojzis averages more ice time than him so far this season. He certainly doesn't look like a sixteen year old rookie on the ice, and it's great to see him grab the chance he's been given. However, seeing him out in the overtime penalty kill perhaps says as much about the worrying state of the TPS roster as it does Ristolainen's obvious potential.

TPS 3-4 SaiPa

A strong third period comeback from 4-0 down wasn't enough for TPS as SaiPa's resolute defence held just strong enough to take all three points from the Turkuhalli last night.

Rasmus Ristolainen looked resplendent in the gold helmet, his reward for a headline stealing performance on Tuesday night. However it was SaiPa who opened the scoring. With Jesse Mankinen taking advantage of a delayed penalty to shoot past Ahlqvist on the second attempt after the TPS defence failed to clear the puck.
The visitors then extended their lead when Jekimovs easily slotted home the rebound from Kaksonen's effort. It was a well worked goal from SaiPa who broke up the ice quickly and took advantage of a questionable line change which allowed Jekimovs all alone at the back post.
Things got worse for TPS before the end of the first, and this time it was Jarno Koskiranta's turn to fire home a rebound unmarked. Ryan Stone was sat in the box and Jesse Saarinen skated freely in on Ahlquist from a tight angle to end the period's scoring.

The second period saw Schwarz replace Ahlquist in goal, and the Czech had a point to make after a poor start to the season. Despite TPS coming much more into the game, SaiPa extended their lead with their third goal with a man advantage. Salo hacked at the puck to get it clear from danger in the left corner but it only travelled as far as Saarinen who quickly switched the play to the unmarked Per Savilahti-Nagander who rifled home a slapshot to the corner which evaded the glove hand of Schwarz.
The atmosphere was understandably flat as a SaiPa team who had only scored three goals coming into the game had a four goal lead at the half way point and I'm sure I wasn't the only one in the stands who had given up on taking a point from the game. The boys in black and white were handed a lifeline when Markus Palmroth, who had been having a poor game up to that point, gloved down a SaiPa clearance, deked past the sprawling Markku Flinck and fired a wrist shot past Myllyniemi.

Despite heading into the third 1-4 down and having been outshot 15-29, Palmroth's goal had lifted the spirits somewhat. TPS were in the ascendency and laid siege to Myllyniemi's goal for much of the period. Toni Mäkiaho struck back for the home team when good set-up play let him skate in from the left and wrist a shot to reduced the deficit to two.
Exactly two minutes later Ville Vahalahti put TPS within touching distance as Myllyniemi, having blocked the original shot, saw the TPS forwards freely hack away at the loose puck, eventually forcing it into the back of the net.
Unfortunately, that was where the scoring ended. Despite continued pressure for the rest of the game, SaiPa gained their first points of the season. Had the game been played in reverse fans would have been ranting about throwing the game away. Instead, the manner of the near-comeback in the third overshadowed what was another poor first period.

Ilves 1-4 TPS

Rasmus Ristolainen, the youngest player in all of the SM-Liiga, had a big hand in TPS collecting three points for the first time this season.
Still shy of his seventeenth birthday, Ristolainen cancelled out Teemu Huhtala's debut SM-Liiga goal which broke the deadlock after a scoreless first. The third period saw TPS pull clear with goals from Anttila and Stone before Ristolainen ended the scoring with his second of the night, and TPS's fourth.
As somewhat expected, Schwarz watched this one from the bench as Alexis Ahlqvist put in a twenty-nine save performance. The forward lines were heavily tinkered with as well, Plihal centring an all-Czech first line alongside Birner and Cerny. Plihal's erstwhile linemates Anttila and Vahalahti were centred by Tapio Laakso.
This result was the one desperately needed by TPS who have started the season not only with poor results (HPK failed to score for the second consecutive match tonight after putting six past TPS) but also poor performances. They now have a bit of a rest before Friday's encounter with an unconvincing SaiPa team.

Other scores:
Jokerit 6-0 HPK
Kärpät 4-1 Lukko
Ässät 2-1 Pelicans (PS)

TPS 1-4 Ässät

An incredibly disappointing first home game of the season for TPS saw simple errors and missed chances gift the points to Ässät. Over 6100 were at the HK Areena. It was my first entry with my season ticket and the view from F1 isn't bad at all, though at times that was a curse, not a blessing. That said, I will be treated to a poster of one time Hull Thunder player Marko Kivenmaki looking down upon me each game. By the way, when I say one time, I mean he literally played one game in the UK. Those were simpler times.

Unlike the season opener, TPS managed to survive the first eleven seconds without conceding, but the side from Pori had the better of the opening exchanges and when an inexplicable outlet pass from Huczkowsi went directly to Mika Niemi who strolled in on net and somehow forced the puck past Schwarz. 1-0 Ässät and less than three minutes played. Most of the period was disrupted by penalties, with the game struggling to flow as a result. Once things had returned to five on five TPS struck back with a nice effort. Anttila carried the puck into the zone, stopped and fired the puck toward the back post. Plihal jumped over the puck, obstructing Järvenpää and it carried through to the onrushing Vahalahti who tipped it in. Soon afterwards Stephen Dixon picked up the second of the three minors he would receive after scuffling with Toni Mäkiaho near the benches.

Whilst both teams had struggled to get a grip on the game in the first, the second was more free-flowing. TPS had got back into the game and went on the powerplay after goalscorer Niemi decided to punch someone in the face in front of the referee. TPS turned over the puck just as the penalty expired and Uusitalo fed Niemi who received the puck with just Schwarz to beat. His first touch was poor and knocked the puck too far forward. It seemed like Schwarz could easily beat Niemi to the puck and poke check it clear but instead sat back on his line, let Niemi attack him and force the puck five hole. After a long consultation to whether the puck had crossed the line the goal was given and TPS went into the break a goal behind.

The third period saw TPS dominate and at times play nice hockey, but just as the crowd were beginning to get behind them Ässät struck against the run of play. Ässät gained possession in their own zone and Tommi Taimi's wristshot snuck through the legs of Huczkowski to Savinainen who had an easy finish coming in from the right wing. The goal took the wind out of TPS's sails and you never really felt they had the cutting edge to come back from two down. As the minutes dragged on Jakob Cerny missed two gilt chances, summing up the day for the home team. A glimmer of hope surfaced when Honkanen was sent to the bin for cross-checking with just over two minutes to go. After a time out TPS reappeared with Schwarz staying put on the bench. The two man advantage allowed TPS to control the puck relatively easily but twice Timo Seppänen failed to control a simple pass back to the blue line. Eventually Ässät stole the puck and skated up ice for a relatively simple empty netter.

So 1-4 final score and whilst Pori were no great shakes, but even with the sixteenth pick in this year's NHL draft, Joel Armia, having a quiet day they were still worth the victory. While Ässät stuck to their systems, did the simple things correctly and were backstopped by a goalie who never looked in trouble, TPS make schoolboy error after another and Schwarz obviously had Saturday's defeat still on his mind.
Whilst the skill in the squad may not be enough to challenge at the top end of the table, just doing the simple things correctly should produce results. Two games into the season and the fans are already talking about a repeat of last season's miserable performance. Losing, like winning, is a habit and a good performance is needed on Tuesday when they travel to Ilves. However, this is an Ilves team who HPK failed to score against  despite putting six past TPS and Ilves having conceded seven in their previous match.

TPS 1-4 Ässät
Goals - TPS: 18. Vahalahti (Anttila).
Ässät: 3. Niemi, 26. Niemi (Uusitalo), 45. Savinainen (Taimi, Kudroc), 60. Zaborsky.
Saves - Schwarz 21/23, Järvenpää 24/25.
Penalties - TPS 10. Ässät 14.
Attendance - 6121.

Other scores:HIFK 6-3 Blues
Ilves 3-0 HPK
KalPa 5-1 Tappara
Kärpät 3-2 JYP
Lukko 4-1 SaiPa
Pelicans 4-3 Jokerit (PS)

Meet the players.

The Hansa shopping centre was the location where this afternoon the season 2011-12 TPS roster was introduced to the fans. Arriving about ten minutes early, there was already a sizeable crowd present. On stage the TPS cheerleaders were performing. I believe they went by the name "Lola's Pussycats". I hope that's not a reference to the song by The Kinks.

Ahlqvist being interviewed.

After the cheerleaders had left, along with most of the casual shoppers in the crowd to whom limber dancing ladies are somehow more of a draw than professional sportsmen, it was time for the MC to chat to new head coach Pekka Virta, or as Google Translate likes to call him: Mr. Power. As there were no banks of phonebooths about, the team metamorphosed from civilian wear to TPS superstars by donning their jerseys off to the side. They had that look that sportsmen always seem to have in these situations. That despite excelling when playing in front of a crowd of thousands, they hope the ordeal of answering a few questions for some hundred fans and Friday afternoon shoppers will be over as soon as possible. First up were the goalies, with Aleksis Ahlqvist the player unfortunate enough to be standing nearest the MC. As with Virta, I couldn't understand a word he was saying, so I took some photos and made sure I clapped at the appropriate moments.

I was however treated to two interviews in English. The first was with Tomas Mojzis who mumbled just enough for me to understand every third word. The second was with Ryan Stone, who was asked the usual safe questions. If the only answer I can remember was about the similarities in weather between Turku and Calgary then it's safe to say there was nothing shocking revealed.

Not Ahlqvist being interviewed

After the interviews were over, the players hung around waiting for people like myself to ask them silly questions and have bits of paper and pens thrust in their face. There were surprisingly few takers so I asked Marek Schwarz if I could record a quick video of him saying hello to my Sparta supporting friend, G. Being the lovely chap that he is, he had no problems doing so, or if he did, he hid them well. Hopefully this sets a precedent requiring him to record increasingly bizarre videos for The TPS Hockey Blog as the season progresses. I also asked Marek if he knew Jan Krajicek. He said he did, but I'm not sure if he actually did or if he was just trying to be polite. Either way, it reflects well on Mr. Schwarz. Well done Mr. Schwarz, just as well we decided to pretend the first eleven seconds of last night's game never happened.

Any journalistic instincts I once had proved to have disappeared, and I flitted from player to player embarrassing myself through uncomfortable silences. Normally I would have asked about the previous game, but, well, it probably wouldn't have been the best of ice breakers. I bought a packet of SM-Liiga player cards at S Market yesterday which included Marko Virtala, but of course I neglected to bring it with me.

After dealing with the likes of myself, TPS should be able to take anything that Pori throw at them tomorrow night. Hopefully throughout the season I'll be able to shirk my responsibilities and head to the rink to bring you some proper interviews with some of the players.