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KeuPa HT

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KeuPa HT
City Keuruu, Finland
LeagueMestis
Founded1995 (29 years ago) (1995)
Operated1995–present
Home arenaKeuruu Ice Hall
1200 Capacity
ColoursBlue, Red, White and Black
       
General managerFinland Juuso Mörsky
Head coachFinland Tomas Westerlund
CaptainFinland Juho Koivusaari
AffiliatesJYP Jyväskylä,
Vaajakosken Pelikaanit
WebsiteKeuPa HT Home
Franchise history
1995–presentKeuPa HT
Championships
Mestis1 (2018)
Suomi-sarja2 (2012, 2014)
Current season

KeuPa HT are a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Keuruu, Finland. They are members of the second highest league in Finland, Mestis. The club was founded in 1995 in the Finnish fourth division II-Divisioona after the ice hockey club decided to part company with the Keuruu sports club. They play their home games in the Keuruu Ice Hall, which holds 1200 spectators. KeuPa are two time Suomi-sarja champions and one time Mestis champions.

History

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KeuPa HT was born in 1995 after the ice hockey branch of the Keuruu sports club split from the football and ice skating branches. KeuPa kept their traditional name but added "Hockey Team" to the end to differentiate themselves; hence, the abbreviation HT appears at the end of the name.[1][better source needed]

The club was promoted to the third division, Suomi-sarja, in 2011–2012 and went on to claim the gold medal and win the third-division championship. By winning, they entered the playoffs with LeKi, KooVee and HCK that year for the right to be promoted to the second division, Mestis. KeuPa finished third in the playoffs and remained in Suomi-sarja, while the other two clubs were promoted to Mestis. HCK, who came second in the playoffs, were promoted only because Wafer-Laser went bankrupt and had to pull out of Mestis.[2][better source needed]

In the 2012–2013 season, the club sought to defend their title but could manage only a third-place finish at the conclusion of the season, winning the bronze medal. RoKi won the championship title and qualified for Mestis. KeuPa HT had to settle for another season in the third division after coming close to promotion again. The head coach quit at the end of the season.[2]

The 2013–2014 season started off badly for the club. They had not been able to find a replacement for their head coach, and the club was in a precarious financial situation, staring at bankruptcy or folding the club up and ceasing operations, which would mean that they would not be able to compete in the Suomi-sarja season. The KeuPa HT players started a fundraising campaign to raise the money needed to keep the club afloat and allow them to compete in the league that year. By season's start, they had managed to raise the needed money, and they began the season on schedule. The club went through a rocky, patchy start to the season but managed to gain momentum at the end of the regular season and just reach the playoff finals. In the playoffs, KeuPa dispatched with RoKi and Bewe Tuuskin to meet FPS (formerly FoPS) of Forssa in the final. KeuPa HT beat FPS in the final and qualified for Mestis for the first time, ending what became a Cinderella season from a very bleak start.[2]

KeuPa HT went through two head coaches in their first season in the second division in 2014–2015, firstly Jussi Tupamäki then Kari Rautakorpi from 23 February 2015.[3] The team finished the regular season in 8th position, just missing out on the relegation positions of 9 and 10. Their record for the season was 13 wins and 30 losses with 8 overtime victories and 5 overtime losses for a total of 60 points from 56 matches.[4][better source needed][5]

Season-by-season-results

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Champions Runners-up Third Place Promoted Relegated
KeuPa HT
Season League P W OW OL L GF GA GD Pts Finish Post season Cup Pro/Rel
2008–09 II-divisioona 20 13 2 1 4 151 90 +61 44 3rd - - -
2009–10 II-divisioona 18 18 0 0 0 191 47 +144 54 1st Champion - -
2010–11 II-divisioona 21 15 1 2 3 158 84 +74 49 2nd Runner-up - Promoted
2011–12 Suomi-sarja 22 16 2 0 4 139 68 +71 52 1st Qualification loss - -
2012–13 Suomi-sarja 22 13 1 2 6 100 63 +37 43 3rd Qualification loss - -
2013–14 Suomi-sarja 38 20 0 3 15 165 141 +24 63 7th Champion - Promoted
2014–15 Mestis 56 13 8 5 30 143 217 -74 60 8th Quarterfinal loss - -
2015–16 Mestis 50 19 7 5 19 140 126 +14 76 5th Bronze game loss - -
2016–17 Mestis 50 19 6 3 22 144 156 -12 72 8th Quarterfinal loss - -
2017–18 Mestis 50 30 2 3 15 182 132 +50 97 1st Champion Quarterfinal loss -
2018–19 Mestis 50 18 5 5 22 151 139 +12 69 8th Runner-up Runner-up -
2019–20 Mestis 50 25 5 8 25 189 182 +7 78 6th Cancelled 3rd Round -
2020–21 Mestis 31 17 2 2 10 112 102 +10 57 4th Quarterfinal loss - -
2021–22 Mestis 52 22 4 6 20 165 170 -5 80 5th - Qualification loss -

Source:[6]

Honours

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Championships

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1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (1): 2017–18
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-Up (1): 2018–19
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (2): 2011–12, 2013–14

Players

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Current roster

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Team roster for the 2021–22 Mestis season [7][8]

KeuPa HT roster - 2021–22 Mestis season
Active Roster Coaching staff
Goaltenders
  • 35 Finland Juho Ahopelto
  • 35 Finland Sami Suni
  • 70 Finland Samuli Tervo

Defencemen

  • 60 Finland Olli Aitola (A)
  • 63 Finland Aleksi Ek
  • 28 Finland Jani Kluuskeri
  •  4 Finland Kimi Kuusela (Loan)
  •  6 Finland Mikko Lahtinen (A)
  • 37 Finland Atro Leppänen
  •  8 Finland Tomi Niku (Loan)
  • 26 Finland Ville Ottavainen (Loan)
  •  4 Finland Eetu Pylkkänen
  • 22 Finland Elias Ruusu (Loan)
  • 26 Finland Santeri Suistio
  • 44 Finland Sakari Turtiainen
 Forwards
  • 11 Finland Joni Airo (Loan)
  • 42 Finland Atte Antinaho
  •  8 Finland Niko Himmanen (Loan)
  • 25 Finland Konsta Keteli
  • 90 Finland Juho Koivusaari
  •  7 Finland Janne Kumpulainen
  • 12 Finland Oula Kuure
  • 91 Finland Joonas Larinmaa (A)
  • 47 Finland Niklas Lehikoinen
  •  9 Finland Miro Lehtimäki
  • 88 Finland Justus Mikkonen
  • 85 Finland Tomi Mäntynen (Loan)
  • 20 Finland Tommi Niskanen
  • 73 Finland Valtteri Pihlajamäki (Loan)
  • 94 Finland Joni Piipponen (C)
  • 22 Finland Samuel Salonen
  • 14 Finland Jani Siekkinen
  • 75 Finland Samuel Valkeejärvi (Loan)
  • 17 Finland Veeti Vuorio

Coaches

  • Finland Max Walther
  • Finland Tuomo Riikonen
  • Finland Antti Leskinen


Legend
(C) Captain
(A) Alternate Captain
(Loan) Player on loan with club

Statistics
Average age: 23.4
Average height: 181.2 cm
Average weight: 82.7 kg

Last updated on: 13 April 2022
Elite Prospects

Well-known former players

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A list of players that have played for KeuPa HT and gone onto play at the top professional level of hockey in Finland or abroad.

Name League(s)
Finland Joni Lius SM-liiga; Elitserien; Austria
Finland Olli Palola SM-liiga; KHL; SHL
Finland Sinuhe Wallinheimo SM-liiga
Finland Waltteri Lehtonen SM-liiga; AlpsHL
Finland Taneli Maasalo ALIH
Finland Petri Pitkänen AIHL

References:[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Team staff

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Current as of 2021–22 Mestis season [15]

KeuPa Staff
Role Staff
Head coach Finland Tomas Westerlund
Assistant coach Finland Max Walther
Assistant coach Finland Tuomo Riikonen
Goalkeeping coach Finland Antti Leskinen
Team manager Finland Tuomo Riikonen
Equipment manager Finland Johannes Manni
Physical therapist Finland Kari Rautakorpi

Leaders

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Team captains

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All team captains of the club since 2005-06:[16]

Name Term
Finland Janne Väliaho 2005–2006
Finland Heikki Virkajärvi 2006–2009
Finland Toni Rautakorpi 2009–2011
Finland Jani Lyytinen 2011–2012
Finland Matias Kiiskinen 2012–2013
Finland Taneli Maasalo 2013–2017
Finland Samuel Salonen 2016–2017
Finland Jani Ollitervo 2016–2017
Finland Markus Jokinen 2017–2018
Finland Waltteri Lehtonen 2017–2019
Finland Joni Piipponen 2019–2021
Finland Juho Koivusaari 2021–Present


Further information on team captains in ice hockey: Captain (ice hockey)

Head coaches

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All head coaches of the club since 2007-08:[17]

Name Term
Finland Kari Rautakorpi 2007–2015
Finland Jussi Tupamäki 2014–2015
Finland Ville Nieminen 2015–2016
Finland Mikko Heiskanen 2016–2018
Finland Niko Härkönen 2018–2019
Finland Niko Eronen 2019–2020
Finland Tomas Westerlund 2020–Present


Further information on head coaches in ice hockey: Coach (ice hockey)

References

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  1. ^ Keuruun Pallo (Keuruun ball), Retrieved 2015-04-27
  2. ^ a b c KeuPa HT, Retrieved 2015-04-27
  3. ^ Ikonen, Petteri (23 February 2015). "KeuPa HT vapautti päävalmentaja Jussi Tupamäen tehtävistään". Mestis.fi. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  4. ^ Mestis season 2014–2015, Retrieved 2015-04-27
  5. ^ "Sarjataulukko". Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. ^ "KeuPa HT Team History and Standings". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  7. ^ "KeuPa HT 2020-2021 Roster". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Joukkue" [Team] (in Finnish). keupaht.fi. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Joni Lius". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Olli Palola". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Sinuhe Wallinheimo". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Waltteri Lehtonen". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Taneli Maasalo". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Petri Pitkanen". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  15. ^ "KeuPa HT Team Staff". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  16. ^ "KeuPa HT - Team Captaincy History". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  17. ^ "KeuPa HT - Team Staff History". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
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