TPS Turku had a terrible 2013–14 season but have made several changes, including bringing back a familiar face from many years ago – veteran defenceman Petteri Nummelin, who is also the new team captain. He spoke after Sunday's Group F contest in Pardubice.

by Karolina Antosova

PARDUBICE – In their first two Champions Hockey League games, TPS Turku won handily over HC Bolzano 9–0 and then edged HC Pardubice 2–1. They had the maximum six points, as did Linköping HC against the same two teams, and for Game Days 3 and 4, both teams headed on the road to play the same two clubs. But while Linköping stayed perfect, TPS lost 4–2 in Bolzano on Friday.

They responded to that by showing Pardubice no mercy in the early minutes of Sunday's game. After 13 minutes TPS was leading 2–0, but the Finnish club could have scored many more. But then something changed.

“We stopped playing the way what we wanted," said TPS captain Petteri Nummelin. “We were struggling on defence and didn’t play smart. You can’t play like that against Pardubice. They have good players so if you give them some time, they'll get back into the game.”

Nummelin himself is born in Turku and a product of the TPS system. However, he left in 1995 to play abroad in Sweden, Switzerland, and even the NHL. After playing last season with Finnish rival Lukko Rauma, he is back with TPS at age 41 and has already been named team captain.

The Finnish veteran was on ice when his team scored both of its early goals, but it wasn’t enough for three points as Pardubice came back to tie the score 2–2 and send the game to overtime.

“After our second goal we started to play a little bit separate," he said. "We gave them so much time. But I’m happy how we fought in the third period because it wasn’t easy for us. I think we felt a little bit tired, but we fought till the end and I’m happy about the two points we gained.”

Nummelin is known as an offensive defenceman. One year with Lugano in Switzerland he had 69 points in 48 games and he even managed to put up 48 points in 148 NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. On Sunday night in Pardubice, he was chosen as one of TPS's shooters in the shootout, but he didn't score.

“Both goalies were so good. However, a lot of shooters also missed the best moments to shoot,” he thought, including himself in that assessment. Ultimately, TPS won the shootout to take the second point.

Two out of six points might not quite be what TPS was expecting from this trip. With eight points, they now find themselves four points behind Linköping, the team they play both of their remaining games against. That means they'll have to take at least five out of six points to finish first in the group.

But before those games, the Liiga season begins, and TPS is coming off a rather forgettable 2013–14 campaign where they finished 13th out of 14 teams. In the off-season, however, they acquired some new players such as proven goal-scorer Radek Smolenak, physical defenceman Jakub Nakladal and, of course, Nummelin.

“At least we have to be better than last season,” the team's new recruit smiled when asked about what he expects from his team for this year. “For sure we want to be in the top six of the Liiga.”

The Finnish league starts on 12 September, but the captain thinks the team still has many things to work on. “We could improve every part of our game. But mostly we have to work on our offence.”