Number one center in Lausanne, Antii Suomela is enjoying a rather quiet finale in terms of productivity.
The 30-year-old Finn tries to help the team in all situations, while Act IV of the final will be held on Tuesday evening at Malley. “We win and we lose together,” he recalls.
With 9 points (4 goals) in 14 play-off matches, Antti Suomela is no longer the LHC top scorer. The Finn is the fifth best scorer in his organization during the series behind Lawrence Pilut (10 points), Jason Fuchs (10), Michael Raffl (9) and Jiri Sekac (9). The two foreign attackers have the same number of points as their Scandinavian teammate, but they have scored more goals.
Mute in the face of Zurich
Author of a hat-trick in the sixth match against Davos in the quarter-finals, Suomela has since fallen into line in terms of offensive production. Absent during the first match against Fribourg, the number 11 of the Vaudois Lions has one assist in seven matches. And even though we know that everything is getting tighter in the play-offs, Suomela has not scored a single point in three games against Zurich, which leads 2-1 in the series.
This lack of success may worry the supporters, but not Antti Suomela. When asked if it bothers him to have to face different lines whether the match is played at home or in Zurich, the Finn does not have his heart racing: “Yes, you play against different types of players, but at In the end, it’s still hockey. Every player in this league knows how to play and every player in this league can be dangerous. No matter who you play, you have to stay focused.”
The best time of the year
At 30, Antti Suomela is experiencing the first final of his professional career. And the Finn is taking advantage of the present moment. “It’s the first time I’ve been in a team playing in a final and it’s an incredible feeling,” he explained after Monday’s training. “I’ve never felt like that before, since I I’ve never experienced it. It’s really the best time of the year. You have to try not to be too nervous and stay relaxed.”
Relaxed, but focused. And both teams manage to leave very little room for the opponent and make as few mistakes as possible. “In the final, we know that the slightest error can have serious consequences, so we try to avoid stupid penalties as much as possible, for example,” he analyzes.
“The games are so close,” he continues. don’t let a rod drag towards his skates and maybe give him a little leeway. It’s of course different if he’s diving towards the net.”
Great self-confidence
What is also striking about this Lausanne team is the feeling that even after a defeat, the guys are not depressed and that they have the feeling that the way they play will allow them to overcome obstacles. “We know what we are capable of, everyone trusts the other,” says Suomela. “We played good hockey all season. Sometimes you lose by playing well and the goal in this kind of situation, and I have. experienced during my career is to neither go too high nor go too low.”
Has he ever been on a team with such a high level of self-confidence? “That’s a very good question. In North America, it was different. The guys changed a lot because of the depth of the squad. Here, we’ve been together from the start, we don’t have thirty players who can happen along the way. We win and we lose together.”
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
