Liiga: Assat's Day At The Top Ends With TPS Defeat, Ilves Reclaim First

TPS Turku rally to victory in Pori

Assat lost 4-2 at home to TPS Turku to surrender top spot in Liiga as Ilves beat Jokerit on penalties to return to the summit.

TPS stun leaders Assat 4-2 as Ilves return to Liiga summit on penalties...

Assat's spell at the top of the Liiga lasted just a day as their home defeat to TPS Turku, combined with Ilves' shootout win over Jokerit, saw the Lynx return to first place on goal difference.

A 4-2 win away at Jokerit had taken Assat top, but back in front of their own fans the following evening they suffered a 4-2 defeat to TPS Turku, who made it three straight wins to move up to seventh and ended the Pori side's two-game winning streak.

Sakari Kostilainen's shorthanded opener had Assat in front in the first period, and the hosts looked to be cruising when Alexandre Doucet doubled the lead, only for Lukas Werblom and Jeremi Virtanen to bring TPS level before the end of the second period. Late in the third, TPS completed a run of four unanswered goals with strikes from Joona Ikonen and Lars Bryggman.

That gave Ilves the chance to reclaim top spot, and they did so by the narrowest of margins, beating Jokerit 4-3 on penalties. It was just a second win in five for the Tampere side, while Jokerit are five points from safety after picking up their first point in three matches.

The Helsinki side were on course for all three points when Maxime Fortier and Markus Hannikainen put them 2-0 up inside eight minutes, but Jens Looke and Matic Torok brought Ilves level before the end of the first period.

Jokerit refused to go away and went ahead again in the second through Patrick Curry, only for Ilves to respond once more through Tony Sund a minute into the third period.

With no goals in the final 19 minutes or in overtime, a shootout was needed, where Aleks Haatanen was the only player to score among the first six takers, securing the two points Ilves needed to overtake Assat.

A 3-1 win over Kiekko-Espoo keeps Lukko third in the table, now just one point behind the top two, while Jukurit picked up their first three-point victory in six matches, beating Tappara 3-2 to stay level with Lukko, as the champions slipped to 11th after back-to-back defeats.

🚨 36 sekuntia siinä vain menee, kun @MikkelinJukurit avaa illan maalihanat Mikkelissä! 🔥 📺 @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga https://t.co/waFlPb9oHj

— Liiga (@smliiga) October 17, 2026

Just two points separate the top six, with SaiPa knocking on the door of the top four after a 7-1 thrashing of IFK Helsinki, who remain in the bottom three, while Karpat drop to sixth despite beating KooKoo 4-3 on penalties, with the shootout win leaving KooKoo with just a fifth point of the season.

In the meeting of the two sides sitting outside both the play-off and relegation spots, KalPa ended a four-game losing run with a 3-1 win over Pelicans.