Many close games and SC Bern back on the road to success after a storming run. These are the facts of the seven National League games on Saturday.
25.01.2025, 23:13
25.01.2025, 23:22
SDA
One of four overtimes on the evening was played in Bern, with the home team ending its results crisis after six consecutive defeats with a 3:2 win against the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. League top scorer Austin Czarnik redeemed the Bern fans after 55 seconds of overtime. The American had previously been credited with an assist on Romain Loeffel's 1:0 (on the power play) and Victor Ejdsell's 2:2. After a storming run in the final third, the Bernese equalizer was only scored 56 seconds before the end of regulation time. The Lakers had their best spell shortly before the second intermission, when they scored twice in 39 seconds to make it 2-1.
Biel downs Gottéron
EHC Biel responded to two recent defeats with a narrow home win against Fribourg-Gottéron. The Seelanders prevailed 3:2 thanks to an overtime goal by Lias Andersson, although they gave away a 2:0 lead in the middle third. The Swede's winning goal in overtime was preceded by a penalty by Fribourg's top scorer Lucas Wallmark.
ZSC averts embarrassment
The ZSC Lions narrowly avoided embarrassment in their away game against Ajoie. The champions were trailing 0:1 and 1:2 at the bottom of the table before winning 3:2 after overtime. Canadian Derek Grant scored Zurich's winning goal against Ajoie, who had now been winless in six games. Goalie Lorin Grüter made his National League debut for the Lions. The 20-year-old from Bülach came into action because Simon Hrubec and Robin Zumbühl, the number 1 and 2 goalies in Zurich, were absent due to illness. This also applied to the four top forwards Frödén, Balcers, Malgin and Lammikko due to a flu epidemic.
Lausanne thanks to two power play goals
After three home wins, it was the visiting team that prevailed this time in the fourth season duel between Ambri-Piotta and leaders Lausanne. The Lausanne team once again made the difference in their 4-2 win in Ticino with two power-play goals in the final third. The 2:2 by Ken Jäger, who has scored six of his twelve goals against Ambri this season, came just 24 seconds after Ambri's Maxim Landry had made it 2:1. Michael Raffl scored the winning goal for the Vaud team three and a half minutes before the end. The former NHL forward from Austria had already scored in Lausanne's two overtime victories against SC Bern this week.
Two Swedes turn Zug's fortunes around
EV Zug suffered an overtime defeat against Ambri-Piotta on Friday. The Zug team did better in Geneva, even though they had to chase a deficit. Teemu Hartikainen put Servette ahead in the 29th minute after a remarkable combination in overtime. Andreas Wingerli equalized for EVZ 54 seconds after the start of the final period. And in the 4th minute of overtime, Lukas Bengtsson scored on a pass from the Swede to give the visitors a 2:1 victory, meaning they came off the ice victorious in their seventh consecutive duel with Servette.
Euphoria in Langnau
After three wins in a row (and previously six defeats in a row), euphoria has already returned to Langnau. The arena was sold out and the Emmental fans were in each other's arms at the end. The SCL Tigers beat Davos 4:3 in a fortunate but highly deserved victory. The Langnau team led three times, had two goals disallowed and conceded a 2:2 equalizer immediately after a great chance. The fact that they still managed to beat Davos at home for the second time this season (after the 7-0 win in September) was down to Oskars Lapinskis. The Latvian with a Swiss license doubled his goal production this season in the last eight minutes against Davos with the goals to make it 3:3 and 4:3. Goalie Stéphane Charlin also played his part again with 36 saves.
Lugano's comeback
Since the change of coach, HC Lugano has rebelled against missing out on the play-in and play-offs. Under the German Uwe Krupp, the Luganesi won three of their first four games and only lost at the ZSC Lions. In the 4:1 win over Kloten, Lugano took a 2:0 lead in the first period through Radim Zohorna and Calvin Thürkauf. Niklas Schlegel stood in front of Lugano's goal for the second time in a row and showed a class performance with 20 saves, as he did in the 5-2 win over Servette. Lugano are still five (?) points behind 10th place. Perhaps the Ticino side waited far too long to change coach.
Table and telegrams:
Biel - Fribourg-Gottéron 3:2 (2:0, 0:2, 0:0, 1:0) n.V.
6436 spectators (sold out). - SR Hürlimann/Öhlund, Schlegel/Francey. - Goals: 13. Burren (Grossmann) 1:0. 17. Müller (Cunti, Rajala/powerplay goal) 2:0. 35. (34:45) Jecker (De la Rose) 2:1. 36. (35:56) Sprunger (Gunderson/powerplay goal) 2:2. 65. (64:32) Andersson (powerplay goal) 3:2. - Penalties: 6 times 2 minutes each. - PostFinance top scorers: Rajala; Wallmark.
Biel: Janett; Luca Christen, Yakovenko; Burren, Grossmann; Blessing, Stampfli; Christe; Hofer, Andersson, Sallinen; Cunti, Heponiemi, Rajala; Greco, Neuenschwander, Kneubuehler; Sablatnig, Müller, Bachofner; Tanner.
Fribourg-Gottéron: Berra; Sutter, Streule; Gunderson, Jecker; Diaz, Rathgeb; Seiler; Sörensen, Wallmark, Schmid; Sprunger, De la Rose, Marchon; Bertschy, Vey, Lilja; Nicolet, Walser, Dorthe; Gerber.
Remarks: Biel without Brunner, Bärtschi, Haas, Lööv (all injured), Delémont, Zryd (both sick) and Säteri (supernumerary foreigner), Fribourg-Gottéron without Dufner, Mottet (both injured) and Borgman (supernumerary foreigner).
SCL Tigers - Davos 4:3 (1:1, 0:0, 3:2)
Langnau. - 6000 spectators (sold out). - SR Stricker/Hungerbühler, Gnemmi/Gurtner. - Goals: 7. Corvi (Stransky, Knak) 0:1. 9. Salzgeber (Petrini, Berger) 1:1. 44. Saarela (Riikola, Felcman) 2:1. 50. Egli (Ambühl, Parrée) 2:2. 52. (51:44) Zadina (Nussbaumer, Egli) 2:3. 53rd (52:09) Lapinskis (Petrini) 3:3. 56th Lapinskis (Petrini, Salzgeber) 4:3. - Penalties: 7 times 2 minutes against SCL Tigers, 5 times 2 minutes against Davos. - PostFinance top scorers: Pesonen; Tambellini.
SCL Tigers: Charlin; Zanetti, Riikola; Saarijärvi, Guggenheim; Erni, Meier; Cadonau; Rohrbach, Flavio Schmutz, Pesonen; Allenspach, Malone, Mäenalanen; Julian Schmutz, Felcman, Saarela; Petrini, Salzgeber, Lapinskis; Berger.
Davos: Hollenstein; Andersson, Jung; Fora, Dahlbeck; Honka, Gross; Barandun; Stransky, Corvi, Knak; Frehner, Ryfors, Tambellini; Kessler, Egli, Zadina; Ambühl, Gredig, Nussbaumer; Parrée.
Remarks: SCL Tigers without Baltisberger (injured), Schwab () and Kristof (extra foreigner), Davos without Blaser, Leipold, Lichtensteiger, Müller, Solèr, Van der Kaaij, Waidacher (all ) and Nordström (injured). Davos without goalkeeper from 58:51.
Ajoie - ZSC Lions 2:3 (1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 0:1) n.V.
Pruntrut. - 4608 spectators. - SR Kaukokari/Dipietro, Fuchs/Duc. - Goals: 3. Devos (Palve, Honka/powerplay goal) 1:0. 25. Rohrer (Trutmann, Grant) 1:1. 52. Nättinen (Hazen, Bellemare) 2:1. 57. Andrighetto (Weber, Kukan/powerplay goal) 2:2. 63. Grant (Andrighetto) 2:3. - Penalties: 4 times 2 minutes each. - PostFinance top scorers: Nättinen; Grant.
Ajoie: Ciaccio; Honka, Fey; Minder, Fischer; Thiry, Scheidegger; Pilet; Hazen, Bellemare, Nättinen; Pedretti, Devos, Palve; Robin, Romanenghi, Frossard; Veckaktins, Garessus, Bozon; Sopa.
ZSC Lions: Grüter; Kukan, Geering; Trutmann, Lehtonen; Weber, Marti; Kinnunen; Rohrer, Grant, Andrighetto; Segafredo, Sigrist, Zehnder; Gruber, Baechler, Olsson; Baltisberger, Henry, Riedi.
Remarks: Ajoie without Conz, Patenaude, Turkulainen (all injured) and Brennan (extra foreigner), ZSC Lions without Hollenstein (injured), Balcers, Frödén, Hrubec, Lammikko, Malgin and Zumbühl (all sick).
Bern - Rapperswil-Jona Lakers 3:2 (1:0, 0:2, 1:0, 1:0) n.V.
15'692 spectators. - SR Wiegand/Arpagaus, Altmann/Huguet. - Goals: 9. Loeffel (Czarnik) 1:0. 40. (39:18) Moy (Fritz/powerplay goal) 1:1. 40. (39:57) Hofer (Taibel) 1:2. 60. (59:04) Ejdsell (Czarnik) 2:2 (without goalkeeper). 61st (60:55) Czarnik (Ejdsell) 3:2. - Penalties: 2 times 2 minutes against Bern, 3 times 2 minutes against Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. - PostFinance top scorers: Czarnik; Strömwall.
Bern: Reideborn; Untersander, Nemeth; Loeffel, Kreis; Vermin, Kindschi; Füllemann; Ejdsell, Czarnik, Marchon; Kahun, Merelä, Lehmann; Schild, Baumgartner, Scherwey; Graf, Schläpfer, Ritzmann; Bader.
Rapperswil-Jona Lakers: Nyffeler; Maier, Capaul; Jelovac, Djuse; Baragano, Nardella; Gerber; Strömwall, Rask, Wetter; Moy, Fritz, Jensen; Lammer, Albrecht, Dünner; Hofer, Taibel, Alge; Wick.
Remarks: Bern without Moser (sick), Klok and Lindholm (both injured), Rapperswil-Jona Lakers without Mika Henauer (sick), Larsson, Quinn (both injured) and Holm (supernumerary foreigner). Bern without a goalkeeper from 58:15 to 59:04.
Genève-Servette - Zug 1:2 (0:0, 1:0, 0:1, 0:1) n.V.
6450 spectators. - SR Tscherrig/Piechaczek, Urfer/Humair. - Goals: 29. Hartikainen (Manninen, Lennström/power play goal) 1:0. 41. (40:54) Wingerli 1:1. 64. Bengtsson (Wingerli) 1:2. - Penalties: none against Genève-Servette, 2 times 2 minutes against Zug. - PostFinance top scorers: Manninen; Martschini.
Genève-Servette: Raanta; Schneller, Berni; Vatanen, Karrer; Lennström, Le Coultre; Baptiste Vouardoux; Hartikainen, Manninen, Timaschow; Loosli, Richard, Praplan; Völlmin, Jooris, Cavalleri; Jacquemet, Pouliot, Imesch.
Zug: Genoni; Bengtsson, Johnson; Hansson, Muggli; Tobias Geisser, Carlsson; Balestra; Martschini, Kovar, Vozenilek; Herzog, Wingerli, Hofmann; Eggenberger, Senteler, Künzle; Antenen, Leuenberger, Biasca.
Remarks: Genève-Servette without Bertaggia, Chanton, Mayer (all sick), Descloux, Granlund, Hischier, Miranda and Rod (all injured), Zug without Riva, Schlumpf, Stadler (all injured) and Wolf (sick).
Ambri-Piotta - Lausanne 2:4 (1:1, 0:0, 1:3)
6591 spectators. - SR Lemelin/Ruprecht, Obwegeser/Bachelut. - Goals: 16. (15:07) Prassl (Marti, Fuchs) 0:1. 16. (15:34) De Luca (Pestoni) 1:1. 49. (48:26) Landry (Heed) 2:1. 49th (48:50) Jäger (Rochette, Bayreuther/power play goal) 2:2. 57th Raffl (Pajuniemi, Sklenicka/power play goal) 2:3. 60th (59:47) Rochette (Bozon) 2:4 (into the empty net). - Penalties: 4 times 2 minutes each. - PostFinance top scorers: Kubalik; Riat.
Ambri-Piotta: Juvonen; Heed, Zgraggen; Virtanen, Terraneo; Wüthrich, Isacco Dotti; Zaccheo Dotti; DiDomenico, Maillet, Kubalik; Zwerger, Kostner, Douay; Bürgler, Heim, Müller; Pestoni, Landry, De Luca; Hedlund.
Lausanne: Pasche; Marti, Bayreuther; Heldner, Frick; Fiedler, Sklenicka; Haas, Genazzi; Riat, Rochette, Oksanen; Bozon, Jäger, Raffl; Pajuniemi, Prassl, Fuchs; Holdener, Bougro, Hammerer.
Remarks: Ambri-Piotta without Grassi and Senn (both injured), Lausanne without Glauser, Hügli, Kuokkanen, Pilut, Suomela and Vouardoux (all injured). Ambri-Piotta without a goalkeeper from 59:03 to 59:47.
Lugano - Kloten 4:1 (2:0, 0:0, 2:1)
5029 spectators. - SR Stolc/Mollard, Bürgy/Meusy. - Goals: 9. Zohorna (Sekac, Patry) 1:0. 20. (19:25) Thürkauf (Marco Müller) 2:0. 49. Zohorna (Sekac) 3:0. 54. Aberg (power play goal) 3:1 (without goalkeeper). 56. Carr (Fazzini, Arcobello) 4:1. - Penalties: 3 times 2 minutes against Lugano, 2 times 2 minutes against Kloten. - PostFinance top scorers: Carr; Niku.
Lugano: Schlegel; Mirco Müller, Pulli; Jesper Peltonen, Alatalo; Aebischer, Dahlström; Guerra; Canonica, Thürkauf, Marco Müller; Patry, Zohorna, Sekac; Fazzini, Arcobello, Carr; Zanetti, Verboon, Aleksi Peltonen; Cormier.
Kloten: Waeber; Niku, Profico; Grégoire, Wolf; Sataric, Steve Kellenberger; Sidler, Deussen; Hawryluk, Audette, Derungs; Aberg, Ramel, Schreiber; Meyer, Schäppi, Weibel; Rehak, Keller, Meier.
Remarks: Lugano without Joly, Morini, van Pottelberghe (all injured) and Huska (extra foreigner), Kloten without Diem, Morley, Simic, Steiner (all injured), Aebi, Cuesta Flores (both ), Ojamäki and Smirnovs (both sick). Kloten without a goalkeeper from 53:18 to 53:33.
