SaiPa were back in action just a day after losing to Plzen in the Champions Hockey League, but that didn't stop them from ending Hameenlinna's four-match winning run with a 2-1 victory, just SaiPa's second in five Liiga matches as they move up to fifth, while HPK remain 11th.
The home side struck in the fourth minute of both the first and second periods to open up some breathing space, first through Brian Kramer, then Petrus Palmu scored on a powerplay. Palmu missed the chance to score his second when he missed a penalty in period three, but SaiPa had done enough for the points, as Viljami Jokirinne's last-minute strike was nothing but a consolation.
Vaasan Sport have picked up back-to-back wins for the first time this season, first by beating top-of-the-table Ilves, then seeing off bottom-of-the-table KooKoo 4-3 at home to go 13th, three points clear of the bottom three and 10 clear of KooKoo, who still have one win all Liiga season.
Viljami Nieminen's opener for the hosts was quickly cancelled out by Vilmos Gallo, but Kalle Kangas ensured Sport had the lead at the 20-minute mark. Simon Akerstrom notched the only goal of period two to put the home side 3-1 up, and though Veeti Miettinen scored shorthanded to reduce the deficit, Brett Harrison soon reopened the two-goal lead. There was still over seven minutes to go when Oskari Luoto scored KooKoo's third, but the visitors were unable to build on that and force overtime.