- The ZSC Lions win game 1 in the playoff final against Lausanne 2-1.
- Derek Grant scores the game-winning goal after a solo across the ice rink.
- This means that the people of Zurich are maintaining their unbeaten streak in this year’s playoffs.
In the 22nd minute, Lausanne’s Damien Riat was centimeters away from putting his colors in the lead by two lengths. But his wrist shot only landed on the top edge of the bar.
It was a phase in which the Lions swam more in their own stadium than they would have liked. But they didn’t go down, although Lausanne was able to play in the majority shortly afterwards.
Weber and Grant turn the game around
When the Lions were able to compete on the power play immediately afterwards, they didn’t just get a break. 6 seconds after the penalty against Jiri Sekac expired, Yannick Weber scored with a powerful slapshot from the blue line to equalize 1-1 (29th).
3 minutes later, ZSC striker Derek Grant provided the highlight of the game. With a check, he captured the puck in his own third, started the counterattack behind his own goal line and completed his super solo across the entire ice surface with a well-placed wrist shot to take the lead. So the Lions turned the game around, even though the guests were closer to making it 2-0 than Zurich were to equalizing.
Legend:
Have you forgotten how to lose?
The ZSC Lions once again had the upper hand in the playoffs.
Freshfocus/Claudio Thoma
Riat the prevented match winner
Right from the start, the people of Vaud had by no means hidden from the favored “Lions”. The LHC promptly rewarded itself for a committed performance with Riat making it 1-0 in the power play.
The lead was preceded by a mistake by ZSC defender Christian Marti, who let the puck slide through unnecessarily. It is quite possible that Riat would have become the match winner if he had aimed a little deeper at the beginning of the second third.
Hrubec holds tight in the end
Lausanne didn’t give in in the final section either and forced ZSC keeper Simon Hrubec to make several great saves. However, the newcomers to the final were no longer able to equalize – not even in the last 2 minutes of the game, when the Lausanne team aimed to make it 2-2 without a goalkeeper, but with one more man.
This means that the ZSC Lions remain victorious in the 9th game of this year’s playoffs. Game 2 in the final series takes place on Thursday in Lausanne.