- Switzerland failed at the start of its home tournament: it suffered a 2-4 defeat against Sweden in front of 5,013 spectators in Zurich.
- Calvin Thürkauf and Andrea Glauser provide the Swiss goals. Malte Strömwall scores twice for Sweden.
- The Swiss continue their game against the Czech Republic on Friday.
Switzerland is still not getting off to a good start on the Euro Hockey Tour. After losing all three games in Finland in November, the start of the home tournament also failed. The 2:4 was the 14th defeat in a row against Sweden. The national team has been waiting for a win against “Tre Kronor” for seven and a half years now.
Double strike within 57 seconds
Switzerland secured a two-goal mortgage in the first third with a double strike within 57 seconds. Malte Strömwall and Geneva’s Henrik Tömmernes scored in the 16th and 17th minutes for a 2-0 lead. It should have been a fateful minute for Patrick Fischer’s team.
Switzerland dominant in the 2nd third
Shortly after the hosts’ first power play in this game, Calvin Thürkauf, the top scorer in the National League, reduced the score to 1:2 (31′). The Lugano striker and Sven Andrighetto worked well in front of Swedish goalkeeper Lars Johansson after a shot from Michael Fora, and Thürkauf reacted quickly after the rebound. The shot ratio of 13:4 underlines how dominant the locals were in the middle section.
Debut for Biasca
At the start of the final third, Mike Künzle received an unnecessary penalty that prevented the Swiss from gaining momentum. In the 45th minute, Strömwall made the preliminary decision with his second goal of the evening, making it 3-1. After that, the locals couldn’t do more than make it 2-3 through Andrea Glauser (51′). 78 seconds before the end, Lucas Wallmark hit the empty goal to make it 4-2.
And so Attilio Biasca’s debut ended with a bit of disappointment. The 20-year-old EV Zug striker played for the senior national team for the first time.
This is how it continues
On Friday, Switzerland will face the Czech Republic from 6 p.m. The Czechs celebrated a 2-1 win over Finland in the so-called “breakout” game in Prague. The final game for the Swiss against Finland follows on Sunday from 5 p.m. Both games will also be broadcast live on SRF.