Dirty National League night for Lausanne. The Vaudois lost 3-1 in Langnau and here they are, slipping to an unenviable 13th place.
We do not know if John Fust will still be on the bench for the Lions on Saturday evening for the reception of Zug, but with five defeats in a row there is fire within the LHC.
One scene perfectly sums up the mess in which the Lausanne residents are evolving. In the 44th, Genazzi manages to reduce the score, but the goal is canceled due to a cross-check by Sekac on a Bernese player in front of Boltshauser’s goal. And instead of having any semblance of momentum, the Vaudois had to annihilate an opposing power play. And in the 59th, Kovacs missed a penalty superbly saved by the former Vaud doorman.
The returns of Jiri Sekac and Ivars Punnenovs did not bring the expected influx to the scoreboard, although both players still offered John Fust other options.
We expected to see a more conquering LHC at Ilfis after the four defeats in a row. This was the case with Lausanne solid defensively and rather inclined towards the offensive, as evidenced by the statistics of shots after the first period (9-3 for the LHC). Only the Vaudois did not manage to thwart Boltshauser and the Emmentalois took advantage of it. Two very well placed shots from Saarela (30th and 33rd) and here is Langnau in front against the run of play.
But the Lausannois can only blame themselves since they wasted four opportunities in power-play during the first forty minutes. And under the helmets, Audette & Cie give the impression of brooding over being unable to find the fault.
Geneva undisputed leader
We expected a lot from the game between the leader and the Zurichers remaining on a series of four consecutive successes. Well, we weren’t disappointed with a very good match and a 3-2 success for Garnet. The decisive goal came from the cane of Winnik in the 41st, just after the second break.
The Eagles were able to strike at the right time, while the Zurichers showed great opportunism. The Genevans could however have lost Sami Vatanen for a while. The Finnish defender, author of the opener, probably injured his leg.
Freiburg recovers
Freiburg was rewarded for having conscientiously prepared its trip to Graubünden. Back from Salzburg, the Dragons joined the Davos station on Thursday. They pocketed three points by beating HCD 3-2.
Suddenly, they were not taken cold by the players of Christian Wohlwend. On the contrary, they were the ones who opened the brand on an inspiration from Julien Sprunger, very skilful in taking over a jumping puck from Killian Mottet.
And while we thought we were going to an extension following the 2-2 from Prassl (57th), Gottéron found a way to win thanks to Mottet in the 59th. Does Friborg find the baraka of last season?
Guilty of a check to the head of Thomas Wellinger, Christoph Bertschy was probably a little lucky not to have been penalized. In the defense of the former LHC player, Wellinger did not prepare in the best way to absorb the impact.
Biel pays for Zug
Something quite rare, Zug have lost two matches in a row. Dan Tangnes’ men were dominated 4-3 ap by a Biel who showed up weak due to several cases of covid. But the Seelanders fought back in the third period when Zug came back to level. And in overtime, it was Rajala who forced the decision after 41 seconds.
After two setbacks, Ajoie had to try to return from Rapperswil with something. The Jurassians almost succeeded as it was still 3-3 after 56 minutes. But Zangger, Jensen and Profico scored twice to make it 6-3.
In Bern, the return of Dominik Kahun brought a breath of fresh air and a welcome offensive force. The Bears beat Lugano 7-3.
In the ‘club in confidence’ style, we ask for Ambri-Piotta. Winners of champion Zug last Sunday, the Leventines crushed Kloten 6-0 in the Zurich suburbs.
/ATS