In their First Game of the Semi-Finals, Lukko Rauma and Genève-Servette ended their tilt in a 2-2 aggregate tie. The Swiss opened the scoring followed by two from the Finns before Geneve’s Giancarlo Chanton knotted things up near the midway mark of the middle frame. Now, only 60 minutes separates one of these two teams from making their debut in the Champions Hockey League Final.

Genève's third-ranked offence continued to showcase its efficiency with Marco Miranda getting his team on the board in the early going of the first period. The Swiss, who held the advantage in high-danger shots, would eventually go on to edge Lukko in shots on goal 23-19 as they continued to find open lanes and get the puck on net. Going forward, having this same shoot-first mentality will be a boon for a club who has demonstrated that they can convert when given the chance as they average 3.45 goals for per game. 

Meanwhile on special teams, the Swiss rank third in penalty killing percentage with 91.43% and were able to kill off both of Lukko’s man-advantages last Tuesday. Helping them in their cause was newly acquired netminder Jussi Olkinuora, who recently came over from the Lahti Pelicans in December, as he made 17 saves on 19 shots. Fortunately for Genève, their netminding has been outstanding all season and should inspire confidence to a club that sits tied for third in the league in goals against per game with 2.18.

From Lukko, their bounce-back effort in the second period was indicative of the club’s ability to find ways to win which they’ve demonstrated throughout the 2023/24 campaign. Their captain, Julius Mattila, made it a 1-1 game four minutes into the second period as the Finns started to find their legs in the middle stanza. Mattila has been solid all season for the Finns, securing eight points (1G ,7A) in ten contests and will be looked upon to help his club establish the lead which is something the Finns have been able to do more often than not.

When it comes to defence, Lukko are among the top ten in goals allowed per game with an average of 2.36 thanks, in part, to the stellar play of netminder Daniel Lebedeff who has managed six wins and sports a 92.46 SV% to go along with a 1.87 GAA. Lebedeff has been relied upon in big situations throughout the season and is one of the reasons Lukko have been so formidable when it comes to holding down a lead. Maintaining that dominance between the pipes could be the difference maker going forward.