- Champion Geneva draws 2-2 against Lukko Rauma in the first leg of the semi-final of the Champions Hockey League.
- Even at the 7th attempt, a Swiss club won in the round of the last 4 in this competition.
- The second leg will take place next Tuesday (5:20 p.m. on the SRF live stream, later also on SRF info).
The chances of a Swiss team reaching the final of the Champions Hockey League for the first time are intact. Unlike the previous Swiss semi-finalists (Davos, Freiburg, Zug), Geneva is not yet behind after the first leg. Nevertheless, coach Jan Cadieux’s team will probably still mourn the missed victory a bit.
Because the Servettiens were closer to scoring the winning goal in front of 4,371 fans in the Les Vernets Hall than the Finnish guests. Vincent Praplan hit the inside post in the 38th minute. In the final period, during the only power play chance, Servette restricted the opponent for two minutes. But goalie Daniel Lebedeff saved the favorable starting position for Lukko Rauma over time.
The final score was fixed after just 29 minutes
It was already 2-2 at half time. Geneva were able to react to the Finnish double strike (25th/27th) and equalize thanks to Giancarlo Chanton. The 21-year-old defender had not yet scored in the National League or the Champions Hockey League.
Legend:
Early cheers
Tanner Richard (left) and goalscorer Marco Miranda after the 1-0 in the 9th minute.
Freshfocus/Laurent Daspres
The big question after the first leg is: what to make of this result? What value does it have for Servette? Geneva coach Cadieux had promised that the GSHC wanted to approach the games against Rauma like a 7th game in the playoffs. The first 27 minutes of the game barely met these demands. Marco Miranda (9th) gave the home team the lead after surviving two box plays. Up to this point, the Swiss champions had only had 7 shots on goal.
Improvement needed in the second leg
After all, Jussi Olkinuora once again proved to be the safe support – as always since Geneva signed the world champion and Olympic champion on December 10th.
The Genevans have to improve away from home compared to their previous appearances in the European Cup. There were defeats away from home against Innsbruck (2:5 after a 2:0 lead), Lukko Rauma (2:3), EHC Munich (2:3) and the Växjö Lakers.
In the second semi-final game, the Swedish representative Skelleftea defeated the Czech team Vitkovice 4:2 away.