Read below for information on the quarter-final series between Luleå Hockey and Lukko Rauma. Lulea won the series 7–3 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals. 

Game 2

LULEA – From their experience in the previous round against Red Bull Salzburg, Lulea Hockey knew that their three-goal aggregate lead on home ice was not a sure thing. They also knew, however, that the longer the game went without a goal, the better their situation was. So things were looking good already with the score still 0–0 past the game's midpoint. When they added two goals in the final six minutes of the second period, it would have taken a collapse of Salzburg proportions to let a semi-final berth escape their grasp.

That didn't happen, though, as they locked down the third period, in what was a very defensive game all around. Lulea's two goals were scored just 18 seconds apart, and both assisted by Cam Abbott. The first was a power-play goal as Markus Fagerudd's slapper from the point through traffic beat Oskari Setanen, and then Abbot found brother Chris with a lead pass and his wrister from the left wing off the far post and in gave his team a five-goal aggregate lead with a period to play.

"I do not score too many goals from that far out," Chris said about his goal. "I got a good pass from Cam, and used the defenceman as a screen on the shot. After that it was really nice to hear the sound of the puck hitting the post and going in."

"It wasn't easy coming into this game knowing we first of all had to catch up the three goals against them. And when they got a two-goal lead in this game it didn't get any easier," Lukko's Toni Koivisto said about the uphill climb his team faced. "But at least we finished well and scored a goal."

Lukko tried in vain to mount an offensive in the third period, though they did manage to break Joel Lassinantti's shutout with 46 seconds to play, when Jonne Virtanen made a nice move to beat the goalie, but it was far too little, far too late. 

"Tonight's game was just the kind of game we wanted to have – we had a three goal advantage after the first game – and we did a good job getting the first goal and then shutting this game down," Chris Abbott said about Lulea's overall effort. "It is really special for our organization to once again be among the top four teams in Europe. It is something that we focused on achieving when we went into this season. And now we are really excited to play the in semi-finals."

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Game 1

RAUMA – Lulea Hockey will go into the second leg of their Champions Hockey League tie against Lukko Rauma in a strong position on home ice, having beaten the Finnish club by a three-goal margin. They were led offensively by forward Niklas Fogstrom and defenceman Kristian Nakyva, who each chipped in a goal and two assists while Lennart Petrell added two assists. 

"We played very tough game defensively," Petrell explained afterward. "Lukko got couple of scoring chances in the first period, but we had the game under control. Of course, the first period could have ended in favour of either team. It was important that we got success and some self-confidence. We've struggled with scoring and today it worked."

Lulea went down a goal down inside the opening 10 minutes, but struck back with three of their own before the first period was out to lead 3–1 after 20 minutes in Rauma. It got worse for the home side just past the halfway mark of the second period, with the visitors adding a fourth before Filip Riska pulled the score back to 4–2. That was how things stayed until the final period, but less than two minutes was all it took for Chris Abbott to restore Lulea's three goal lead, and saw them take a 5–2 win back home with them to Sweden.

"Today we were greeted by a very fast-skating, puck-moving team," said Lukko head coach Risto Dufva. "Lulea were good, but the difference in play wasn't as big as the score indicates, but we have to accept that and move on. They were so successful today because we made a lot of mistakes."

"For us, this is an important victory because in our league we've now lost six games in a row," said Lulea coach Joakim Fagervall. "We won with good defence and goaltending, we won the battles in our own end. The back-checking was good and the forechecking was good.  I'm satisfied with the game and the effort from the guys."

The two sides did meet in the group stage, with each team winning on home ice – however, given the dominant display by Lulea tonight they will go into the second leg as strong favourites. Lukko will have to overcome the three goal deficit, and the memory of losing 3–1 in Sweden earlier in the CHL campaign. One plus for the Lukko will be the knowledge that Luleå needed overtime to beat Red Bull Salzburg in the previous round, having conceded nine goals over the two legs – however, Lukko will need to tighten up defensively to have any chance of making the next round.

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Lulea's Petrell: "This series is not over"

Preview

In one of the more interesting quarter-final match-ups, we see two teams that faced each other during the group stage. Both Luleå Hockey and Lukko Rauma dominated Group K, each winning their first four games before they faced off twice – once in each city – to determine the group winner. The first game in Luleå was tied 1–1 in the third period when Johan Grandstrom broke the tie in the 45th minute and Luleå won 3–1. The win assured Lulea a spot in the playoff stage, but Lukko snatched first place in the group on the final day at home with a 2–0 victory, as Harri Tikkanen and Jesper Piitulainen scored the goals and Oskari Setänen stopped all 28 shots for the shutout.

The experiences of these two teams were much different in the eighth-finals, however. With a 5–1 road victory in Turku, Lukko only had to avoid a big loss on home ice in the return game and they managed that, falling only 4–3 to TPS to win on aggregate. Luleå, meanwhile, put themselves in a huge hole by losing on home ice 4–2 to Red Bull Salzburg and were then out-scored 4–1 in the first period in Salzburg. Five goals down on aggregate, they erased that deficit with a five-goal second period and ultimately won in a shootout in what has probably been the most incredible game of this CHL season so far. 

Closer look: Luleå Hockey

(6-0-0-2, 18 points, 42:15)

Luleå won the Swedish title in 1996 and they've been near the top in recent years – finishing first overall in 2011–12 and then reaching the 2013 finals, where they were swept by Skelleftea AIK. Now they are one of four Swedish teams left in the CHL. The team's top two scorers from last year, Linus Klasen and Nicklas Olausson, have moved on, but the slack has been picked up by the line centred by 19-year-old Lucas Wallmark (5+6=11) with 20-year-old Daniel Zaar (6+6=12) and 36-year-old veteran Per Ledin (5+6=11). A Carolina Hurricanes prospect, Wallmark had 10 points in 41 games last year as an SHL rookie, while Zaar had three points in 25 games two years ago before his Rögle club was relegated for last season, and he played in the Allsvenskan. 

Luleå's biggest pick-up, though, has surely been Finnish defenceman Kristian Näkyvä. Not only does Näkyvä have six points (1+5) in eight CHL games, but he leads the team in SHL scoring with 16 points (7+9) in his first 21 games. Of course, Canadian brothers Cam and Chris Abbott (7 and 8 points, respectively) are now in their sixth seasons with the club and produce consistently. All told, this is a team that is both very dangerous offensively and stingy defensively, and will be a difficult to beat. 

Daniel

Zaar

6+6, +6

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Zaar is Luleå's top scorer so far in the CHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick is also producing well in SHL play. In both the SHL and CHL this season his line with Wallmark and Ledin has been outstanding.

 

Kristian

Näkyvä

1+5, +8

 

Top Defenceman: Näkyvä has been impressive so far in his first season in Sweden, and said in an interview that the Swedish style of play suits his game. Not only has he put up six points in eight CHL games, but he leads the team in scoring in the SHL as well.

 

Joel

Lassinantti

94.59 %

 

Top Goaltender: Joel Lassinantti has a save precentage of 94.59 so far in the CHL, which includes a relief appearance in Salzburg where he allowed two goals in over 59 minutes of work and stopped all four shots he faced in the tie-breaking shootout. In the SHL, the 21-year-old has established himself as Lulea's starter which, considering he spent all of last season on loan in the Allsvenskan, is no small feat.

 

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: Lukko Rauma

(6-0-0-2, 18 points, 29:22)

Lukko are are a team that has been rebuilt almost top to bottom in the last two years – defencemen Jesse Virtanen and Harri Tikkanen and forward Teemu Nurmi (4+5=9) are the only players that have more than three years of service with the club. That's apparently been a good strategy as they keep climbing higher – last season they made the Liiga semi-finals and now they are battling for first overall. 

Lukko are not a particularly high-scoring team but the sparkplug of their offence is Canadian Aaron Gagnon, who has 11 points (4+7) in eight CHL games and is second on the team in Liiga play, producing at almost a point per game. Ville Vahalahti has nine points (3+6) in the CHL and leads the team domestically with 24 points (4+20) in 21 games. Among the team's many new signings this past off-season are internationally known defenceman Janne Niskala (1+5=6) who's played in the NHL and KHL and 37-year-old winger Ville Nieminen, a veteran of over 400 NHL games. Stingy defence is what keeps Lukko near the top of the standings and American goalie Ryan Zapolski is a big reason for that, and they'll all need to work together to stop Lulea's offence.

Aaron

Gagnon

4+7, +6

 

CRAMO Top Scorer: Heading in to the quarter-finals the Lukko offence has been powered by Gagnon. The former Dallas Star and Winnipeg Jet also sits second on the team in the Liiga season at almost a point per game. Vahalahti’s numbers in the Liiga also can’t go unnoticed.

 

Janne

Niskala

1+5, +8

 

Top Defenceman: Simply put, Niskala is Lukko's best defenceman, being solid at both ends of the rink. He has contributed offensively with six points in eight CHL games and is also a club-leading plus-8.

 

Ryan

Zapolski

95.89 %

 

Top Goaltender: Zapolski's save percentage of 95.89 in the group stage is some statistic, although the fact that Lukko only conceded seven goals in total can partially explain it. Oskari Setänen played both games against TPS with Zapolski out of the lineup, and also shut out Luleå in the group stage. 

 

Click here for team statistics