Hockey Night In Finland!

Just moments ago I arrived home from my first Finnish hockey game. The local team JYU lost 4-3 to the opposing HIFK from Helsinki.

The Game:
I mean no disrespect to the Finns, but the skill level was not nearly as high as I had expected for an elite league. Between missed passes, the misread plays and messy skating I would place this team somewhere between Jr. A and OHL. At moments you were "wowed" but then a sloppy play only seconds later put the game back into perspective.

The seven goals made the game quite entertaining as HIFK had at one point been winning 3-0.

The Ads:

Ads are everywhere. On the nets, the refs, the players, the boards, the ice. Everywhere. There was a Bauer ad with an unidentified Goalie wearing a Leafs jersey. Nice to see JYV likes the Leafs too!

The Fans:
The ends of the rink had the standing sections/cheap seats. Mainly filled with students, and the dedicated fans. A drummer kept the crowd clapping most of the night. Over all I would say the crowd was fairly unenthused. Of course they cheered for the goals and big saves, but overall there wasnt much. The cheering that occured for some of the hits certainly made me (the Canadian hockey fan) laugh. A hit which at home would go by with very little notice stirred the crowed here.

My TSN Turning Point:
For me the defining moment at the game was not a part of the game itself. I looked up at the clock early in the first to see 4 minutes, I was shocked at how fast the period had gone by. Then minutes later I looked up again to see more time on the clock. That is when it hit me. I am actually watching a game in Europe. At that moment my location in the world became clear. Despite having spent three weeks here, that was the moment I truly realised I was in Europe. I have watched games from Europe on TV for as long as I can remember, but to realise I'm actaully here, my night was made :)