Genéve-Servette and Rauman Lukko ended in a rare draw in the first semi-final of the CHL.
Genève-Servette’s Teemu Hartikainen protects the puck from Luko’s Sebastian Revo’s approaches. EPA / AOP
After the 2-2 draw in Switzerland, Lukko gets into the second leg next Tuesday in Rauma in a good position. The place in the final is decided by the combined result of the two matches.
Lukko came into the match with a brave move, which mixed up Genève’s pack and created two superiority games for the Romanians.
The visitors’ opening goal was close a couple of times, but Genève took the lead soon after equalizing the score when Marco Miranda shot the puck at the end of the counterattack by Daniel Lebedeff behind.
The game also turned to the hosts, but Lukko survived the break without another goal.
Luko’s fast goals
From the costume booth, they returned to the ring like a newly born group from Rauma. With aggressive pressure, it took control of the pace stick again.
Sebastian Repo immediately played to the top by Steven Jandric to an open position, but a home guard Jussi Olkinuora stretched out to tackle.
Soon after, Lukko hit the puck twice behind Olkinuora in a couple of minutes. First there was the captain Julius Mattilaand in time 26:39 Gabriel Fontaine at the end of the run, put the puck neatly in the backpack.
Giancarlo Chanton however, tied the numbers midway through the second set to 2-2, and the final set did not change the situation.
Lukko played it strongly defending the center and at no point was he under the pressure of a significantly more experienced and more expensive team.
The Finns of Geneva
The Finns, who play in the ranks of the reigning champion of Switzerland, who operate with a player budget that is approximately four times larger, were left scoreless in the match. In addition to the straw, the team is represented by defenders Julius Honka and Sami Vatanen and attackers Valtteri Filppula, Teemu Hartikainen and Sakari Manninen.
Thinking about the joint result, Luka had to deal with at least the situation at the end of the second set, where Brayden Burke was combed as a puckless player just before he would have directed the pass that came to the back post into a practically empty goal. The fault was clear as day, but no whistle was heard.
In the second semi-final pair, Swedish Skellefteå AIK claimed a 4–2 advantage in Ostrava for next week’s home match against Vitkovice Ridera.