Despite his age, TPS goalie Oskari Setanen has a lot of CHL experience. He was stellar in his two group-stage games, and now looks ahead to a familiar opponent in the Round of 32.
by Leeni Pellinen
TURKU – Based on statistics, TPS Turku's Oskari Setanen was the Champions Hockey League's best goalkeeper during the group stage. The 22-year-old is really satisfied with both his own and his team's play so far in the competition. He laughed when told about his amazing save percentage of 98.36 in two games.
“I haven't look at it. But yeah, I let just one goal in,” he remembered and smiled. “The group stage felt good. We played good hockey even though it was just the start of the season. We were well-prepared and ready to play.”
Setanen enjoys playing in CHL games, and this is already the third season he's got the chance. He has great memories from his time in the Lukko Rauma net two years ago, when he played in seven CHL games as the team advanced to the Quarter-Finals.
“I have always liked these games. For me, the CHL has always been great fun. When I played in Rauma, the coach told me that I would play most of the CHL games. It was the high point of my season then,” he recalled. “That was so great for a young goalie, as I was then, to get a lot of experience and I played well in the CHL.”
For his own traditional routines it doesn't matter who the opposing team is. TPS played in a group against Bili Tygri Liberec and Lorenskog IK. Setanen gives credit to the team's coaching staff for giving him great videos of both teams.
“There weren't any big surprises, but the power plays were the things that I checked beforehand,” he said. That preparation paid off, as Setanen didn't allow any power-play goals in his games against either Liberec or Lorenskog.
Setanen admitted that he feels TPS is lucky to play against another Finnish league team, IFK Helsinki, in the Round of 32. He said that even though it would have been great adventure to travel with the team to some other country in Europe, it always takes a lot of time and effort.
“Honestly, a two-hour bus ride to Helsinki sounds really great,” he acknowledged. “Travelling, for example, to Switzerland would have be great, but at this point IFK is a great opponent for us. I think that we can benefit in both leagues if we are able to avoid all the extra strain from travelling,” he said, referring to the CHL and Liiga.
Being another Finnish team, Setanen knows the upcoming opponent and knows that the two games will be intense and tough. TPS played against IFK in a pre-season tournament in August. He believes that IFK has improved their game since then.
“I think these games will be like the pre-season game, although I bet that their game has developed. They are tough team and they have great players. We need to play hard. I don't think that these games will be a lot different from a regular Finnish league game against IFK.”