The ZSC Lions celebrate an away win once morest Zug. Now you have the chance to win the title in your own stadium.
A great atmosphere in the stadium, top-class hockey and hard checks – the third game in the final playoff series between EV Zug and the ZSC Lions was also a highly exciting affair. Again with the better ending for Zurich, who turned the game in their favor in the last. In the end it was 2:1 for the ZSC and the 3:0 lead in the playoff series. On the sixth Monday, Zurich might already use the first match puck for the championship in the Hallenstadion.
For the hosts from Zug, on the other hand, it was a very bitter evening. Right from the start, the reigning champions wanted to show who was in charge on Saturday evening in the sold-out Bossard Arena in Zug. By the end of the first third, EVZ had almost twice as many shots on goal as the ZSC Lions. For the 1-0 lead following the first 20 minutes, however, a 5-on-3 situation and a free-standing Gregory Hofmann were needed.
Kovar die Wand
For a long time, the people of Zug seemed livelier and more aggressive than the guests from Zurich. But they mightn’t take their chances. They either failed because of the edge of the goal or because of another strong Jakub Kovar. The Zurich Wall and playoff life insurance in the Lions’ goal.
In the last third, too, Zug started stronger – but allowed a phase of weakness towards the middle of the third. And then there was bad luck. ZSC defender Maxim Noreau took a shot from the blue line, the puck didn’t even go towards the goal, but hit top scorer Andrighetto in the leg. The puck rolled into the goal. Compensation for the ZSC. Less than two minutes later, more precisely: 92 seconds later, then another shock for Zug: Denis Malgin launched an attack, took Denis Hollenstein with him, who passed it back to Malgin and he pushed the puck past Genoni to make it 2-1 for the people of Zurich. The grasp for the championship cup is now very close.
Comments on the game:
Sven Andrighetto (ZSC): “We always try to put pressure on the goal, to create chances. If you create chances, the disc will go in at some point. Right now they’re going in, that’s good. We in our line are glad we can help the team in this way. But we have four strong, balanced lines that can put pressure on us. That certainly gives us strength. We in our line get along very well on and off the ice. Against Biel, when we got together in a line, we had the knife on our necks. We knew we had to deliver. That bonded us even more and gave us strength. We now have the chance to win four games. That means we have to do our best to win this match. But we will prepare in exactly the same way as before.”
Carl Klingberg (EVZ): «Yes, it is frustrating. But the whole series is tight. The fourth win is always the most difficult. We just have to work harder. The energy is not a problem. It’s more regarding timing and tackles in the corners, on the gang. My job is to drive in front of Jakub Kovar, block his view and handle traffic.
Nico Gross (EVZ): “It’s very bitter. We always broke down at the end. Denis Malgin has a move on goal, I feel like I have him under control. He then hits her from a sharp angle. We gave everything and tried to force the momentum onto our side. We failed three times. The only thing left for us now is to go full throttle in every game and win every game. Every mistake is exploited. We have to see that we can be consistent over 60 minutes and reduce our mistakes. Then we have a good chance. We have nothing left to lose and want to go full throttle once more.”