”The most important thing is that we got to play the game and a get a fair result out of it," started Tapola, "both teams had some time off before the game tonight and our opponent had some guys out of their roster, but we secured our place in the Final with a good game of hockey – not with a board decision."

Tappara beat Munich 3-0 in a game that they controlled from start to finish. The Head Coach broke down the 60 minutes of play for us.

”The game was mostly in control, but the powerplay in the second period was poor and we didn’t score from our chances," he started, "we just didn’t have the determination."

"The game stuck at 1–0 for a long time and obviously they have some great players who were able to use their own skills to create threatening chances,” said Tapola.

Despite Munich missing a number of key players from their line-up due to the Olympic Games, the DEL side were able to challenge Tappara big time.

”We knew that a game like this wouldn’t be easy. Goaltender Christian Heljanko played really well, especially in the third period in the deciding moments when he was able to make the important saves and keep us in the game," said Head Coach Tapola, praising his goaltender.

The CHL Final is still a month away and even though the players can’t really focus on it yet, they will prepare themselves gradually.

”We will prepare for the Final throughout the month. We need to improve our game and find the right things to implement against Rögle. We have to be ready when the the Final comes,” concluded Tapola.