Until the end of the night. Act III of the quarter-final between LHC and FR Gottéron will leave traces in the organizations since the decision fell during the 3rd extension!
© Estelle Vagne/freshfocus
Lausanne’s Francis Paré (right) in contact with Fribourg’s Nathan Marchon.
In a wild explosion of joy, Philippe Furrer offered his team a second point following a tough, spectacular and ultimately crazy duel. The record for the longest match in the history of the Swiss championship dates back to 2019. Bern folded its quarter-final once morest GE Servette following 117 minutes and 43 seconds thanks to Mark Arcobello who exploited a blunder from Mike Völlmin. This time, the hero wore a Dragon on his sweater and he had the good idea to go for a rather exceptional solo in the 105th.
FR Gottéron regains control in this series but LHC can hold its head high. Maybe he even found the key to the series. The Vaudois must absolutely avoid special situations. Whether with one or two fewer men, they pay the price regularly. The concern is that when the situation is reversed, the trend remains the same. Unable to score in power play, John Fust’s men push vice to the point of regularly putting themselves in danger when they are outnumbered.
During two matches played on the ice of the BCF Arena, Friborg took advantage of the whistles of the referees. A double penalty allowed Julien Sprunger and Chris DiDomenico to open their counters in these quarter-finals. Two polished combinations that opened Lucas Boltshauser’s goal. And this time, Chris DiDomenico did not miss the target…
Lausanne dominated
Trailing by two lengths, the Vaudois might feel poorly paid as they had been dominant in the five- once morest-five game phases. It was true until the opener. This was confirmed during the interim period. The domination found its reward on an effort from Floran Douay who went straight to the goal provoking a rebound well exploited by Emilijus Krakauskas.
While its strong lines had been well muzzled by Fribourg, LHC therefore found a way to get back into the game thanks to its 4th offensive triplet. It’s the kind of goal that can transcend a team. The equalizer fell logically at the start of the 3rd period on a good combination between Tim Bozon, Fabian Heldner and Christoph Bertschy. The future Dragon, who is gently returning to the top of his form, has shown that he will not make a feeling during this quarter-final. The debates were then somewhat balanced at the same time as the game closed.
Unlike Act II, LHC was unable to take advantage of the good momentum to go overboard in regulation time and in extra time. And it was Furrer who blew up the BCF Arena at midnight 26 following a lone effort worthy of a high-flying winger. With this second point acquired following a hard fight, the Dragons regain the lead. But will they be able to free themselves to find the same vista as during the regular season?
