With a two-goal aggregate lead heading into the home half of their two-game series, Tappara Tampere have reason to be confident. However, centre Jani Lajunen acknowledges that his team did not outplay Vitkovice in the first game, and they'll have to bring their A-game on Tuesday if they want to advance.

by Leo Runsas

TAMPERE – Tappara centre Jani Lajunen was pleased after the team’s 3–1 Liiga win against HPK Hameenlinna on Friday. Lajunen scored Tappara’s third goal in the third period and was one of the most visible players on ice in an otherwise lacklustre game.

“We had a nice rise. We played a good third period and scored on our chances. Now it'll be fun to continue into Tuesday’s CHL game,” Lajunen commented afterward.

On Tuesday's opponents, Lajunen gives plenty of credit to Vitkovice Ostrava, a team that had a lot of shots on goal but were unable to beat Mika Noronen in the Tampere net in the first game of the Round of 32. Because of that, Tappara enter the return game with a two-goal lead.

“They were a good team the last time we played against them. It is going to be a tough game and we have to put in a full day’s work in order to win. We have to make it a good game,” said Lajunen, who has plenty of experience in international club hockey, having Champions Hockey League experience with the Vaxjo Lakers last year and with the Espoo Blues in 2008.

The 25-year-old has had a tough start to his first season with Tappara and his first in his native Finland since 2011 – following two years in the United States and two more in Sweden. He has recorded four points in nine Liiga games and three points in five CHL games. Lajunen has received criticism from the media and fans but seems to be okay with it. The last few games have gone better.

“I try to do my own thing. The points come through that and I score from my chances if I do. I just try to play my own game. I believe that the points will come from there,” he said. “Success boosts self-confidence and it's always fun to score points. That isn’t the object of the game, though – it's more important to win.”

Tappara has seen some major line-up changes throughout the season. In the HPK game Lajunen played with Henrik Haapala and Kristian Kuusela on the wings. The centre isn’t worried about the changes.

“The line-up changes from time to time, there's nothing I can do to it. We just have to play. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t. There is no point in stressing about them, the line-up will find its form as time rolls on.”

Tappara has had a rough start to the season too. At the moment they are seventh in the Liiga standings, trailing first-place Lukko Rauma by four points. Adding insult to injury, local rivals Ilves Tampere are in third, ahead of Tappara by two points. Lajunen doesn’t see the start as too bad.

“We haven’t had a bad start but we could always play better,” he reasons. “We should get a good 60 minutes and a good continuum and our game will come. There is no single explanation for our game’s fluctuation, we always start the game with full force. We don’t slack.”

He concluded, “I think that we should play a simpler game. Sometimes the game just clicks and sometimes it doesn’t. There is no need to worry. There are plenty games left.”

Read more on the Tappara Tampere–Vitkovice Ostrava series HERE.