FYI on the Finnish league
The Finnish Hockey League was closed in 2000, so no teams could drop or rise to/from the lower series. The League will be re-opened again partly during this season 2006-2007 as the winner team of the Mestis-division has the opportunity to rise to the Finnish Hockey League. However, no team from the Finnish Hockey League will drop down to the lower division.
During the going season 2006-2007 there are 14 teams around Finland playing for the championship. Every team plays 56 games, 28 home games and 28 games away.
The teams that are placed 7-10, will play in the pre play off round, where a team needs 2 wins to get through to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals are played with the best of seven games-system. The semifinals and finals are played with the best of five games-system and the winner is clear 16.4.2007 at the latest.
If a team wins a game in regular playing time (60 minutes), it gets 3 points as the loser gets 0 points. If, at the end of the game, the score for both teams is equal, the game shall be declared a tie with one point credited to each team.
When the game is still tied after 60 minutes, a 5 minute “sudden victory” overtime period is played. The team who scores first during the overtime gets 2 points as the loser gets 1 point. If neither team scores during the overtime, a penalty shot competition is held and the winner team gets 2 points and loser 1 point.
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my notes: This means that at the end of the year, there is no motivation for teams on the lower half to play...