Lukko have climbed to the top of the Liiga standings after defeating TPS Turku, while former leaders Jukurit suffered a shutout loss to Ilves, triggering another shake-up in the Finnish ice hockey league.

Jukurit had moved into first place with a 3-0 victory over Vaasan Sport, but they were unable to maintain their momentum, falling 3-0 to Ilves. The defeat ended their three-game winning streak and dropped them to fourth, while Ilves climbed to second despite collecting just five points from their previous four games.

Erik Borg opened the scoring for Ilves with seven minutes remaining in the first period, and his goal remained the difference between the teams until the final stages. Luke Henman eventually doubled the visitors’ advantage before Jens Looke added a third with seven minutes left, scoring while Jukurit were on the power play.

Goaltender Mantas Armalis produced 18 saves to secure a shutout in Mikkeli, completing an impressive performance from Ilves.

The result gave Lukko an opportunity to take over at the top, and they made the most of it with a convincing 4-1 home victory against TPS Turku. The win marked Lukko’s fourth consecutive triumph, while TPS dropped to seventh after their own four-game winning run came to an end.

Alex Beaucage put Lukko ahead in the opening minute before Antti Saarela and Felix Robert extended the hosts’ advantage in the second period. Anton Olsson added a fourth in the final period, rendering Lars Bryggman’s late goal little more than consolation for TPS.

Meanwhile, SaiPa moved above Jukurit into third place after securing a 5-3 victory away to Vaasan Sport. SaiPa matched Lukko’s impressive return of 11 points from their last four matches, while Sport suffered consecutive defeats and remained outside the play-off positions on goal difference.

Brian Kramer converted a penalty to give SaiPa the lead before Nick Zabaneh doubled their advantage late in the opening period. Two goals in two minutes from Petr Fridrich and Mikko Perttu then put the visitors firmly in control at 4-0.

Sport responded in the second period through Oula Palve and Simon Akerstrom, reducing the deficit and giving the home side renewed hope. However, Aarne Intonen scored SaiPa’s fifth with less than three minutes remaining to ease the visitors’ nerves, before Brett Harrison completed the scoring in the closing seconds.

Elsewhere, Karpat moved level on points with Jukurit after recording a 5-2 away victory over KalPa, handing the Kuopio side their fifth defeat in six games.

The teams were level after 40 minutes, but Julius Hermonen scored the decisive goal to put Karpat ahead. The visitors subsequently added two empty-net goals to seal the win and strengthen their position in the standings.

Jukurit’s defeat, combined with results elsewhere, left them relying on goal difference to remain inside the top four, while KalPa slipped into the bottom three.

IFK Helsinki (HIFK) climbed out of the relegation-threatened positions with a 3-0 victory over Kiekko-Espoo, who remain in 10th place.

HIFK scored once in each period, but goalkeeper Hugo Alnefelt proved instrumental in the victory, making 29 saves to deny Kiekko-Espoo throughout the contest.

With the standings continuing to shift, Lukko now lead the way, while Ilves and SaiPa have also strengthened their positions near the top of the table.