‘08 KalPa Keltainen makes its mark with 8-0 performance
Over the past few weeks, 2008-born Finnish youth hockey club KalPa Keltainen has been making quite a name for themselves. Rising up the ranks in group play, they have been dispatching opponents with ease thanks to solid play at both ends of the rink.
Most recently, they got their biggest win of the season with an 8-0 shutout of No. 8 KalPa Musta.
Sitting with a 9-5-1 record, their lone loss in group play was to SaiPa Jusut. Since that loss back on Sept. 24, they have rattled off seven consecutive victories. If there was any pause to put KalPa Keltainen in the ‘best-of-the-best’ category among their peers, it’s that a majority of their games had come against lower-tier teams.
Yet, their sound win against Kalpa Musta may begin to silence critics and prove that this squad can run with the big dogs of their birth year.
Dynamic trio leading the way
When taking a close look at KalPa Keltainen, the numbers certainly jump off the page. They have been cutting through the competition with an explosive offense that has been averaging an astounding eight goals per game.
Leading this goal-scoring explosion is forward Sisu Mustonen, topping the team with 23 goals and 24 assists. He likes to score in bunches, collecting at least five points in seven games. Mustonen has also tallied four hat tricks; two of which were four-goal games.
Backing up the balanced attack of Mustonen are Reettu Tuovinen (13 goals, 29 assists) and Miro Happonen (10 goals, 22 assists). Impressive numbers for Happonen despite being held scoreless in two matchups.
These stat lines for all three players would be impressive over a season’s worth of action. However, given their performance in just a short time frame only speaks to their immense skill and potential to continue.
As if their contributions weren’t enough, four other players on the squad have at least 10 points to compliment the club’s scoring prowess.
The Road Ahead
Kalpa Keltainen is in prime position to not only use its success to rise up the World Rankings, but also continue to hold onto the top spot in their group.
For the next few weeks, they will continue group play before a rematch against Musta on Nov. 24. That opponent will surely be looking to avenge their shutout loss the last time the teams met.
If the offense continues to thrive, the sky is truly the limit for Keltainen. The rest of the season will serve as a challenging and important task for the team from Kuopio, Finland.
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