- Zug also wins the second playoff quarterfinal game against the Lakers. At home, the EVZ wins dramatically with 4:3.
- Up to the 58th minute, the Swiss champion was 2:3 behind before a double strike within 91 seconds brought about the late turnaround.
- The Lakers are already under a lot of pressure in Game 3 on Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
- Davos can equalize in the series against the ZSC Lions in front of their own team.
3 minutes in ice hockey can feel like an eternity. Rapperswil-Jona can sing a song about it after game 2 of the quarter-final series in Zug. The Lakers started the third third with a deserved 3:2 lead and maintained this lead for a long time. But not long enough to reward yourself for a good performance abroad.
“Dirty” goals bring about change
In the 58th minute, the assignment in the guest defense was wrong for once, Brian O’Neill was more or less able to curve around the goal and serve the free-standing Tobias Geisser. The tall defender did the rest with a powerful shot under the bar. Carl Klingberg skillfully blocked Melvin Nyffeler’s sight in the slot.
After the 3:3 the momentum tipped completely. While the Lakers suddenly lost their courage, the Zugers smelled their chance to end the game in regular time. And that’s how it was: Geisser brought the puck into the danger zone with a supposedly harmless shot, where Fabrice Herzog skilfully steered the disc into the goal – only 91 seconds after the 3:3 and 69 seconds before the final siren.
The Lakers then threw everything forward again, but were unable to succeed without a goalie in 6-on-5.
Train no better, but more efficient
You can’t lose such a hard-fought, even hateful duel much more unhappily than Rapperswil-Jona. As in Game 1, St. Gallen played more and fired a total of 36 times at Leonardo Genoni’s goal, while Zug fired 25 shots at Nyffeler. In contrast to Wednesday, the Lakers seemed to be able to convert their 5-a-side victory into a win.
Rapperswil-Jona was able to take the lead 3 times in the Bossard Arena, but Zug always caught up. And on the home stretch, EVZ, who was significantly more experienced in the playoffs, caught up with the third-placed qualifier.
Lots of contentious scenes
As in game 1, the referees had their hands full again. The people of Zug in particular made a few checks on the edge of legality. In the 25th minute, Justin Abdelkader knocked Michal Jordan down from the side and escaped unpunished.
Legend:
Had a hard fight again
Zug and the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers.
Martin Meienberger/freshfocus
Only 3 minutes later it was again Zug’s American who hit Rapperswil-Jonas Jordan in the neck with a high stick. Top scorer Jan Kovar dealt an ugly check against Gian-Marco Wetter’s head in the middle third, which resulted in a small penalty.
Game 3 on Sunday in Rapperswil-Jona should also be hot. The Lakers urgently need the 1st win, otherwise they are already on the verge of the end.