On my recent trip to Helsinki, I wanted to not only see some of the main tourist attractions, but also experience what Finnish people do and so, when someone suggested I take in an ice hockey match, that sounded like a great opportunity to do just that. Ice hockey – or simply hockey as they would call it – is the most popular sport in Finland and the national team is ranked second in the world in the IIHF World Rankings. Many would say it’s their national sport although apparently that’s the much less popular game of pespallo – a Finnish version of baseball.
So how was I going to take in a game? My first port of call was the tourist information centre who directed me towards Stockmann‘s, Helsinki’s equivalent of Harrod’s.
There, on the uppermost floors, is a ticket office and another information centre, and this is where I was served by the ever-helpful Pamela. Her English – like that of seemingly all the Finnish people I met – was perfect, which was useful considering my Finnish didn’t go much beyond “hei” (hello).
When I expressed an interest in seeing a hockey match, Pamela was immediately able to tell me that there was one taking place later that day – Helsinki IFK would be at home against the Lahti Pelicans (Lahti is a city about an hour north of Helsinki) in the Liiga, the top league in Finland.
It was at this point she produced an almighty lever-arch file packed full of seating plans from venues throughout the city and possibly beyond, and quickly turned to the relevant page – the Helsingin jhalli (or Helsinki Ice Hall), capable of holding up to 8,200 people. Thanks to her advice, I was able to choose a great aisle seat and get a good view of all the action. She went further than that, though, telling me which tram to catch and providing me with a map showing the venue’s whereabouts. She even gave me a brief background about the two teams, informing me that the Pelicans were coached by the former national coach and HIFK by one of their former’s players.
I understand there are other venues around the city where you can get tickets (such as the many R-Kioski outlets that you see). However, if like me you don’t really know what you’re doing, then I’d recommend calling at Stockmann’s ticket office as they really gave me the time of day and talked me through the various options. Research by American Express into customer service found that almost half of us (46%) feel compelled to tell someone else about a great service experience straight away or within the same day and on average will tell up to 20 people, over half of whom will then go onto share the same story and positive feelings with others.
Thanks to Pamela’s guidance and the help of one or two passengers on the tram who ensured I got off at the right stop, finding the venue wasn’t so difficult, although I arrived with just 15 minutes or so to spare.
Inside, fans were gathering for the game.
There was a real buzz of excitement as the match got underway and the stadium was fairly close to capacity.
By the end of the first period, HIFK had taken a 3-1 lead.
They extended this to 4-1 in the second period with this goal from Eero Somervuori.
At this point they looked to be cruising to victory and the cheerleaders were in full swing.
However, in the final period the Pelicans came back with two goals to make for a nervy finish. With some good defending, HIFK managed to hang on, though, and the game finished 4-3.
Although this wasn’t my first time at an ice hockey match, it was certainly the most memorable and my thanks goes to Pamela for making the process of booking a ticket and finding the venue such a straightforward task. A full match report – for those who are interested – can be found on the HIFK site,here.
