- Zug wins Game 5 of the playoff finals at home against the ZSC Lions 4-1.
- The EVZ thus shortens the series to 2:3.
- Match winner is Dario Simion, who scores three goals and turns the game single-handedly.
The EVZ keeps up the hopes of defending the title. The Central Swiss defeated the ZSC Lions in game 5 at home 4:1 and thus forced a sixth final game. This will take place on Friday in the Hallenstadion.
The fact that there was again no ZSC championship celebration in the Bossard Arena on Wednesday was primarily due to Dario Simion and Jan Kovar:
- 38 minutes: Kovar launches his strike partner after a quick attack. With a well-placed shot, Simion equalizes to make it 1-1.
- 52 minutes: Kovar presses Maxim Noreau outnumbered behind the opposing goal and forces him to make a fatal bad pass. Simion says thank you and puts Zug in the lead for the first time.
- 58 minutes: With the 3:1 in the empty goal, Simion makes everything clear. Again the last pass comes from Kovar.
Just one minute later, the top scorer from Zug was able to put himself on the top scorer list. Like Simion, the Czech scored into the empty goal to make it 4-1. The 5th final match also adhered to the specified script: the team that scores 1:0 leaves the ice as the loser.
As on Monday, it was the ZSC Lions who opened the score. After a bad pass from Nico Gross, top scorer Denis Malgin first let Niklas Hansson out and caught Leonardo Genoni in the near corner (31st).
A few minutes later, Justin Sigrist had the 2-0 on the stick, but EVZ defender Gross saved the “Buebetrickli” attempt for his beaten goalie on the line. Sigrist symbolized the hapless performance of the actually equal guests. In the 45th minute, the 23-year-old failed to hit the post from close range.
Suri is badly injured
Zug had started the game under a lot of pressure as usual, but initially lacked composure in the end. After the Lions had also found their way into the game, things got hateful for the first time shortly before the first break.
In the 20th minute, Zug’s Reto Suri collided with Marco Pedretti and possibly injured his knee badly. Although the ZSC striker probably didn’t act on purpose, he had to take a shower early. An unnecessary stick hit by Yannick Weber just 8 seconds later even allowed EVZ to double the advantage. Goals resulted from numerical superiority – as in the entire game – but none. Thanks to the Simion/Kovar duo, this shouldn’t take revenge for once.