We caught up with Finnish forward, Janne Laakkonen, after he notched eight points amidst a four point weekend for the WALDECK Peterborough Phantoms.
Upon signing with the club ahead of the 2024/25 season, Janne was dubbed a playmaker with an eye for a pass, and that has absolutely proven to be the case throughout the course of the campaign.
He played a key role in Phantoms’ four point weekend as they defeated the Milton Keynes Lightning and the Sheffield Steeldogs, playing a solid two-way game in addition to his point scoring exploits.
Janne said: “Saturday's game was excellent from us and everyone played brilliantly. We lost to them at home a week ago and we definitely wanted to get revenge and we did it well.”
“On Sunday we started a little loose, but we did better in the second and especially in the third period. Then we overplayed a couple of times whilst in the lead and let the opponent back in, which was bad. We have to learn from this and play these situations better in the future.” He continued.
His eight points at the weekend took him to 88 points for the season so far, which includes an impressive 75 assists. Janne was happy with his own performances, and those of his teammates.
“Of course I was happy that I could help the team like i can to get two important wins. My own and our line game has felt good lately.” Laakkonen said.
For the majority of the season, Janne has been playing on a line with Luke Ferrara and Cam Hough, a line which has produced the goods more often than not. Janne has played with Ferrara before in their time at the Coventry Blaze, but both have found good chemistry with Hough and all three have had excellent seasons so far.
“We’ve clicked well together from the very first games. They (Luke and Cam) are both really good players and I really enjoy playing with them. Both players have an excellent shot and ability to score goals, so my job is to try to create scoring opportunities for them and so far we have been very successful in that.” said Laakkonen.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the Phantoms face a double header against the Hull Seahawks. Janne and his teammates will travel to Hull on Saturday night, before the Seahawks visit Planet Ice Peterborough on Sunday evening.
Janne said: “Next weekend will be tough, Hull are a good team and the games will definitely be close. Of course we will go looking to continue our winning streak and try to climb further up the table.”
And the Finnish forward was keen to praise the Phantoms fans for their ongoing support of the team throughout the season, with the playoffs now right around the corner.
“The fans have done a great job all season and I believe that their support will give us more energy for the important games at the end of the season. Keep up the good work and let's make together a great end of the season!”
To book your tickets to watch Janne and the rest of the WALDECK Peterborough Phantoms in acton against the Hull Seahawks this Sunday, click HERE!