The first coaching change of the new ice hockey season does not bring quick success. HC Ajoie loses its first game after the dismissal of coach Christian Wohlwend with 1:3 against Fribourg.
The omens for Julien Vauclair, the interim coach, were not even that bad. Ajoie were playing against Fribourg, who were in second-last place before Ajoie and had not yet picked up a point away from home this season. Ajoie led 1-0 until the 32nd minute, but ultimately lost 1-3. Lucas Wallmark and Christoph Bertschy scored within 58 seconds of each other in the second period to reduce the deficit from 0-1 to 2-1 for Fribourg.
The top game between the in-form ZSC Lions (5 wins from the last 6 games) and EHC Biel (4 wins in a row) was won 4-2 by Zurich SC after trailing 1-2. The ZSC Lions extended their lead at the top of the table to five points over Lausanne, who were not in action.
The game also turned in Lugano. Lugano took the lead after just 160 seconds, but suffered their first home defeat of the season with a 5-1 loss to EV Zug.
The fourth game on Tuesday in Rapperswil was also varied: Ambri-Piotta led three times, then trailed 3:4 until 69 seconds before the end, but still won 5:4 after a penalty shoot-out.
Results and standings:
Results: Ajoie - Fribourg-Gottéron 1:3 (1:0, 0:2, 0:1). Rapperswil-Jona Lakers - Ambri-Piotta 4:5 (1:2, 1:0, 2:2, 0:0) n.P. Lugano - Zug 1:5 (1:1, 0:1, 0:3). ZSC Lions - Biel 4:2 (1:2, 1:0, 2:0).
Ranking: 1. ZSC Lions 13/29. 2. Lausanne 13/24. 3. Rapperswil-Jona Lakers 14/23. 4. Kloten 14/22. 5. Ambri-Piotta 14/21. 6. Biel 14/21. 7. Zug 14/21. 8. Davos 13/20. 9. Bern 13/20. 10. Lugano 12/19. 11. Genève-Servette 10/18. 12. SCL Tigers 12/17. 13. Fribourg-Gottéron 14/17. 14. Ajoie 14/4.
SDA
