On the ice, Joel Lehtonen and Jesse Vuoirnen are right at home.
Playing on the top line for the Vancouver Rangers, the duo have combined for 72 goals and 84 assists in 46 Western States Hockey League games. With 78 points apiece, the linemates finished the regular season tied for third in scoring in the Northwest Division.
Maybe the chemistry was bound to develop between the forwards. Though they had not been teammates before this season, both are 5,000 miles from their homeland of Finland.
This weekend Lehtonen and Vuoirnen hope to propel Vancouver to its first playoff win. The Rangers host the Whitefish Wolverines at Mountain View Ice Arena for a best-of-3 series with games at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and — if needed — at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Rangers coach Dave Daniello said pairing Vuorinen’s speed with Lehtonen’s ability to handle the puck makes them a dynamic combination. And their chemistry was obvious from the start of the season, Daniello said.
In part that is because they speak the same language on the ice. In part it’s because they grew up playing the same free-flowing style of hockey.
“Most of the time I know without looking where (Vuoirnen) is going to be,” Lehtonen said.
Lehtonen has 37 goals and 41 assists; Vuorinen 35 goals and 43 assists.
Among the more memorable games for the duo was a November game against Butte, when all three members of their line had a five-point night. Another highlight was handing Missoula its first loss of the season, a November game that saw Vuorinen score three goals and Lehtonen produce a goal and three assists.
For a significant portion of the season, the top line included three Finns. But a concussion knocked Tuomas Korhonen from the lineup several weeks ago and he returned to Finland this week.
Lehtonen, 20, played two previous seasons in the United States with junior teams in Utah and Minnesota.
This is the first time Vuorinen, 19, has left home. One of the first players recruited for this season, Vuorinen said he came for a new experience and for a bit of independence.
“I’m happy with the decision,” Vuorinen said. “It’s a great experience to be more independent and learn to do things yourself.”
Vuorinen said he has enjoyed the food better than the weather during his time in Vancouver — too much rain.
In addition to experiencing the American culture, the incentive for foreign players to pay for the chance to play junior hockey here is the opportunity to be scouted by college coaches. Daniello said he has had inquiries from college coaches about Lehtonen, Vuorinen and other Rangers — though none have yet committed to a college program.
On the ice, the biggest adjustment for the Finnish forwards is the physical side of hockey in America. Vuorinen said his Rangers teammates introduced him to the physical side of the game in the team’s first practices.
“You learn to keep your head up more,” Lehtonen said.
In Europe, hockey is played on larger ice sheets. The smaller rink size in North America makes collisions inevitable.
“This is a much more physical league. That, at times, has been a challenge for them,” Daniello said.
The most challenging time of the season, though, has come at the end of the season. Lehtonen and Vuorinen were suspended for five games for leaving the bench during a fight. (Daniello argued that he sent them out on a line change unaware a fight had started, but the league enforced the suspension).
Compounding the frustration for both, the suspensions kept them out of the lineup while their families were visiting from Finland.
“It’s been hard. Sitting in the stands watching your team and wanting to play is tough,” Lehtonen said, adding that sitting out the last two weekends only increases his motivation for these payoffs.
As the No. 4 seed in the Northwest Division, this weekend figures to be the last time this season the Rangers play at Mountain View Ice Arena. Should Vancouver advance — given they won four of six meetings with Whitefish this season the Rangers are confident — the Rangers will be on the road for the Northwest Division semifinal series.
So this weekend might be the last chance for Vancouver fans to watch the young Finns in action.
