No team has yet managed to turn a 0:3 deficit in a final series. But EV Zug is now preparing to do just that. Such a miracle is theoretically only possible because the reigning champions defeated the ZSC Lions 4:1 in the Hallenstadion on Monday evening and thus fended off Zurich’s first championship puck.
Fantastic atmosphere at the start of the game in the sold-out Hallenstadion: ZSC top scorer Denis Malgin gave Zurich the lead for the first time in this series of finals in the 5th minute. Was that a good or a bad omen? In any case, EVZ came back into play in the 13th minute, and Yannick Zehnder equalized.
Bad luck for the ZSC captain
Things got even better for the people of Central Switzerland. With a lot of luck, Christian Djoos made it 2-1 (25th), he was the last player to get the puck, but ZSC captain Patrick Geering steered it into his own goal. The ZSC mightn’t keep up in the middle third and had to be satisfied with the small deficit.
In the final third, Dario Simion closed the sack in the 52nd minute and scored to make it 3-1. “They took their chances coldly, we made a few too many mistakes,” said Denis Hollenstein on SRF. And EVZ goal scorer Yannick Zehnder said: “This win is extremely good for us. I think we deserve that too.”
Now it’s back to Zug on Wednesday evening. Central Switzerland have the momentum back on their side and have stopped their series of losses once morest the Lions. The question arises as to whether EVZ can fend off three more master pucks.
