After two games TPS Turku is tied for first place in Group F and the team's top scorer is American Ryan Lasch with 4 points. Lasch is new to TPS but Finland and European hockey are not new to him.
by Vilja Päätalo
TURKU - Ryan Lasch is back, and this time he is playing for TPS Turku. The last time the 27-year-old played in Finland was two years ago and that season ended with him scoring the most points in Liiga, which led to him representing Team USA at the World Championships and, eventually, signing an NHL contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
Lasch did not end up playing any games in the NHL, however, and decided to return to Europe. After playing for a season and a half for Swedish SHL and CHL team Växjö Lakers he's now back in Finland. After the performance he put up last time it is no wonder that TPS Turku fans are delighted to have him. And Lasch, himself, is happy to be here too. Except for one little detail.
"There aren't too many cafés in this city though. I haven't been able to pinpoint a great place to get my latte from," he laughs.
He is happy about everything else in his new home city. When asked about how he feels about the Champions Hockey League he smiles.
"I'm very excited about having the chance to play in the CHL. It's always fun to travel to other countries and see different places. We will travel to two places (Bolzano and Pardubice) in a couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to that."
TPS had a great start to the CHL after winning their first two games. They showed off their scoring skills against HC Bolzano, winning 9-0. It was a much closer game against Pardubice, with TPS scoring the winning goal in the final minutes. Lasch admits that the game could have gone either way.
"It was one of those games where it's a grind out there. We knew that what we were going to need was an ugly goal, just throw the puck in front of the net and hope for the best, and that's what happened. We got rewarded in the last five minutes."
Lasch himself scored the important tying goal for TPS. He and his linemates Tero Koskiranta and Radek Smolenak already played together two years ago for Pelicans Lahti, another Liiga team. It's no wonder that their line is already playing extremely well together.
"It's nice to play with those guys since I know exactly how they play. That goal I scored against Pardubice followed a good pass from Tero (Koskiranta). It was a bit lucky, but that was the only way we were going to have a chance to score: by working hard. All that matters, at the end of the day, is that we scored."
The fourth team in Group F is Linköping HC, who also won their first two games. Lasch knows this opponent well after playing against them in the SHL last season.
"They have skilled forwards and they're good on the power play. That means we need to stay out of the box," he says, thinking ahead to the two games that might decide the group winner.