Genève-Servette finds success in a roundabout way in the third game of the Champions League. Lausanne and Fribourg-Gottéron asserted themselves for the second time.
Servette, who started the tournament with two defeats, won 4-3 on penalties at home against Norwegian rivals Storhamar Hamar after initially falling behind.
Michael Spacek, who had scored twice on the power play in regulation time, and Vincent Praplan were the only scorers in the penalty shootout. Servette goalie Gauthier Descloux decided the duel with his Norwegian opponent Markus Stensrud in his favor after all with four saved penalties, after he had let a save from Samuel Solem pass for the late goal to make it 3:3 in the 59th minute and Stensrud had repeatedly shone on the other side.
After the less compelling away defeats against Bremerhaven and the Lahti Pelicans, Servette needed some time to get going in the Patinoire des Vernets before they finally deserved to win. In the end, the shooting ratio was 39:18 in favor of Geneva, but the score was 0:2 after 23 minutes.
Sovereign victories for Lausanne and Fribourg
Lausanne and Fribourg had no major difficulties in achieving their second victory. Lausanne won 7-2 at home against Ilves Tampere, led by Antti Suomela's triple goal, with the goals from 3-2 to 7-2 coming in the last twelve minutes. Fribourg won 4-0 at Klagenfurt thanks to three goals in the first 14 minutes and 25 saves by Reto Berra.
Lausanne and Fribourg, like the ZSC Lions who started the season with two wins, are now among the leaders. Despite their first win, reigning champions Servette are still outside the top 16 who qualify for the round of 16. Geneva will play their next game on Saturday at home against Ilves Tampere.
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