Playing in a league comprised of elite players, difficulties are bound to arise. It’s tougher to score, tougher to generate chances, and, generally, tougher to get the results you want. In their contest against 2021/22 Champions Hockey League Runners-Up Tappara Tampere, HC Davos faced these challenges as they fell to the Finnish side 1-0 on aggregate.
Last season, Leon Bristedt lifted the European Trophy as a member of Rögle Ängelholm, defeating Tappara in the CHL Final. This season, he’s looking to find similar success against his Finnish rivals with Davos, but a stingy defence coupled with solid goaltending meant the goals just never came.
This is only half of the game played and we have another 60 minutes in Tampere.Leon Bristedt of HC Davos
Christian Heljenko was perfect stopping all 22 shots he faced for the shutout, and he got plenty of help from his team in front of him. For the former CHL Champion, this is a testament to Tappara’s excellent team play.
"In the third we had a lot of chances but they’re a structured team and their goalie played well tonight,” he admitted, adding that Davos “have to find ways to score” moving forward.
An uneventful first stanza gave way to a second period that saw penalties dished out to both sides. Tappara were the first to go on the man-advantage but failed to convert, then Davos had their own opportunity to get on the board with the extra attacker. Instead, it was the penalty killers who broke through when Petteri Puhakka, using the Davos defender as a screen, wired it past Gilles Senn.
The third period brought out a little more effort and energy from Davos.
“We got a little more desperate and forced them on their heels a little bit,” said Bristedt. Davos continued to mount an attack but became increasingly frustrated by a Tappara team that seized their opportunity to take a one-goal lead into next week.
Though not the outcome they had hoped for, Bristedt and company aren’t panicking yet as there’s still another match to be played with a chance to advance.
“This is only half of the game played and we have another 60 minutes in Tampere,” assured the Swedish forward. As for how they plan to prepare for next week’s fixture, the answer is simple: “recharge, look at some video and come back.”