1967–68 Porin Ässät season

Lore & Background

Porin Ässät was established in June 1967 when two local sports clubs, Rosenlewin Urheilijat-38 (RU-38) and Porin Karhut, merged their sports operations. RU-38 had won the SM-sarja championship in 1967, but the Rosenlew company considered giving up sports activities, feeling hockey did not bring enough positive publicity. Karhut faced economic downturn due to heavy investments in player acquisitions and loss of supporters to Rosenlew. The merger negotiations were conducted so secretly that even insiders of the teams did not know about them. Rosenlew took over a large portion of Karhut's debts and promised to support the new team financially. The club's name was given by Vilho Santala, who acted as negotiator and became the first chairman. The logo was designed by Vesa Antikainen, and the colors chosen were red, black, and white.

Reader's Guide

The 1967–68 season marked the birth of Porin Ässät, a club formed from the merger of two rivals, RU-38 and Karhut. The season is notable for the club's immediate success: it finished fourth in the SM-sarja with 12 wins and 25 points, and won the 1967 Finnish Cup by defeating SaPKo 7–0 in the final. Ässät also inherited RU-38's spot in the 1968 IIHF European Cup, winning its first two rounds against Legia Warsaw and Vålerenga before losing to SC Dynamo Berlin in the quarter-finals. The club's top scorer was Veli-Pekka Ketola with 25 points. The season established Ässät as a competitive force in Finnish hockey, built on the foundation of the merged clubs' histories and the financial backing of Rosenlew.

Did You Know?

• Ässät's first SM-sarja game was a 7–3 victory against IFK Helsingfors.
• The club's biggest win of the season was 16–0 against Kärpät.
• Ässät won the 1967 Finnish Cup by beating SaPKo 7–0 in the final.
• The club inherited RU-38's place in the 1968 European Cup and reached the quarter-finals.