Winger Jerry Ahtola has supplied a fair bit of offence for Lukko Rauma in the club's first four Champions Hockey League games so far, registering five points and twice wearing the Cramo Top Scorer jersey. He's now ready for the start of the Liiga season and the team's last two Group K games against Lulea.

by Miro Perhe

RAUMA - The Champions Hockey League is now two-thirds through the group stage, and for Lukko Rauma, the first four games could not have gone better. They have won all four games - two against the Notthingham Panthers and two against the Hamburg Freezers.

One of the sparkplugs of the team's offence so far has been left winger Jerry Ahtola, who recorded five points in the first three games and wore the team's Cramo Top Scorer jersey and helmet for the Lukko's two recent games on home ice.

On Friday night he scored his second Champions Hockey League goal against Nottingham and helped his team to a 6-2 win.

"It felt very nice,"Ahtola said about wearing the Top Scorer jersey. "We've been playing well in the CHL so it's been a success for us."

For Lukko, it was good to get a decisive victory after the scare on Game Day 1 in Nottingham, when the same two teams were tied in the third period.

"The difference between the two teams can be seen in the playing speed," he commented. "We had lot of scoring chances during the game, but the score is okay. It's interesting to play against teams that I've never even seen before, let alone played against. It's very exotic."

Lukko also has two wins against Hamburg. Although Ahtola was held off the scoresheet for the first time in the tournament on Sunday, but the team got offence from other sources and won 5-0, meaning Lukko has out-scored Hamburg 8-0 over two games.

"The Last game between us was very tough," he said of the physical style that Hamburg plays. "They play very tough hockey and give a lot of stickwork. They've also got some very big players and lots of North American players."

Despite the maximum 12 points from four games, nothing is guaranteed for Lukko yet, as Group rival Lulea Hockey also has 12 points, and the group winner will be decided in the last two games against each other. Only five of 11 second-place clubs go through to the next round.

In addition to that, the domestic leagues are all getting underway now and CHL teams have a busier schedule than the other clubs.

"It's not a problem for me," Ahtola said, stating he'd rather keep busy and play than sit around waiting for the next game. "It's better that there isn't such a big break between games. It's not coming too soon."