- The Swiss national ice hockey team closed the preliminary round at the Olympic Games with a sobering 3:5 against Denmark.
- This puts Switzerland into the decisive phase of the tournament with 3 defeats from 3 games.
- It is not yet known who the national hockey team will meet in the quarter-final playoffs.
The good news first: everything is still possible for the national ice hockey team in Beijing. But that’s the end of the positive conclusions. Because more was the performance against Denmark in the final preliminary round game.
Standing up comes too late
Coach Patrick Fischer’s protégés only got up to temperature in the last third. Romain Loeffel brought Switzerland up to 2:4 with a nice goal in the 45th minute and thus initiated the stormy final phase of the national hockey team.
Although this was temporarily stopped by a 1:52 minute double penalty, the Swiss rewarded themselves in the 57th minute with the goal. Goalkeeper Reto Berra had already given up his place to a sixth field player when Fabrice Herzog reduced the lead to 3:4 after a cross pass from Enzo Corvi.
However, the big turning point did not materialize. 59 seconds before the end, Frederik Storm took Switzerland’s last hope of a conciliatory end to the group stage with his empty netter.
Lack of discipline will be punished
At the same time, the Fischer squad did not have a bad start to the game – at least in terms of the result. Somewhat contrary to the course of the game, Corvi used a strong template from defender Yannick Weber to make it 1-0 in the 16th minute.
In the middle third, the Swiss didn’t do much. The usual persistent Danes needed just 21 seconds between the 21st and 22nd minute to turn a 0-1 lead into a 2-1 lead. Switzerland conceded the equalizer outnumbered, Denis Malgin had hiked to the penalty box after a leg trip. The returnee did not have a good day. In addition to two penalties, Malgin also didn’t look good at 1: 3 when he couldn’t prevent Lugano striker Mikkel Boedker from shooting.
It was also the Danes who got off to a better start in the third period. In the 42nd minute, Nicolai Meyer benefited from the insufficient Swiss defense and increased to 4:1. With their backs to the wall, the Swiss turned up the heat – but the rearing up was to come too late.
Last in the group in the knockout phase
After the preliminary round, the national ice hockey team is in Group B with one point as 4th and last. Even before the duel with Denmark, it was clear that Switzerland would have to take a detour via the quarter-final playoff game. It is not yet clear who the Fischer team is up against in the fight for a place in the quarter-finals. The playoff games all take place on Tuesday.
The Russian selection secured victory in the Swiss group and thus a place in the quarterfinals despite a 5:6 defeat against the Czech Republic after extra time.