Kärpät U20 saw off KalPa 5-6 in a club friendly on Friday, 22 August 2026. The match ran the full five periods and finished with the visitors taking the narrow victory. And here's the thing — these two sides have crossed paths before, but this one felt different from the start.
KalPa took an early lead, but Kärpät responded quickly. The visitors pulled ahead in the second period and held it through the third. By then the game had settled into a rhythm, both teams trading chances without either side dominating.
KalPa found their way back in the fourth period, level again after a quick succession of goals. To be fair, neither side looked like they were going to let this one slip away. The fifth period brought the decisive moment, with Kärpät scoring twice in quick succession to seal the result.
Both teams came in with mixed recent form. KalPa had lost four of their last five, including heavy defeats to Ilves and KeKko-Espoo. Kärpät were more inconsistent — a 5-0 win against Yukurit, but also a 1-7 hammering. By then you'd expect both coaches to be testing different combinations.
The final scoreline tells you everything. Six goals for Kärpät, five for KalPa. Not a clean sheet between them, and neither side could hold their end for more than a period at a time. They saw it out — the visitors taking all three points from the friendly.