Behind The Mask: Tiina Ranne

Friendship and family connections give KalPa’s netminder plenty of positivity.

Next up this season in Behind The Mask is KalPa Naiset goaltender Tiina Ranne. Her mask for 2018-2019 is a sleek black monochrome beauty that holds plenty of personal meaning and memories.

Ranne’s mask was painted by Matti Hoppula of FoxPaint. A head-on look shows a silver and white V shimmering with iridescent hexagons bisects the front from cage to backplate.

The KalPa crest dominates one side.

The iconic shield, re-adopted by the club in 2009, features the club’s name, a six-point snowflake in the top left corner, and the founding year on the bottom right.

Opposite on the left is a tranquil nature scene, water rushing under a bridge near an old mill.

“That picture is from Panelia. It is [a] very small village where 1600 people live. That is the place where my parents and other relatives live so it is my ‘safe place,’” Ranne told The Ice Garden.

“The reason why I pick that place was just because it is a beautiful place, and I like to go there sometimes and just watch the water and listen to its roar.”

As with many netminders, Ranne reserves her mask’s backplate for some unique twists. Stinky from the classic Finnish Moomin series decorates the right side. At first, the logo on the left appeared to be part of the mask, like the Wall branding. Then, unsolicited, Ranne told the story of the Original Seven.

“You didn’t ask anything about that ‘Original Seven’ logo but I still wanna tell you about it because that is [a] very important thing to me!”

“Original Seven is a group of friends and old teammates (plus coach) who practice together and like to spend time together. Our coach, Katja Saari, is making the physical programs, and then there [are] six players/ex-players: Jenni Hiirikoski, Rosa Lindstedt, Sanni Hakala, Piia Perälä, Laura Vilén and me. We all have been in the same team in Jyväskylä when we won SM-gold 2016.

“We have had [a] few members more in our group but this is the roster we started with. This group gives me support, lot of energy and the joy. These people have taught me a lot and the most important thing is that I can call them my FRIENDS. And this logo is very special because Michelle Karvinen has made this for us!”

Ranne and KalPa start their quest for the Aurora Borealis Cup on Feb. 23.