- After just one point in the first two games, the ZSC Lions celebrate their first win of the season in Lugano.
- Zug has to be disenchanted by Servette in the reprise of the penultimate playoff final at home.
- Ajoie double against Langnau. After a shoot-out win against Davos, Ambri is the closest pursuer of leader Biel, who defeats Bern in the shootout.
Lugano 0-1 ZSC Lions
Exactly 25 years to the day after their birth, the ZSC Lions can look forward to their first win of the season. In Lugano, Rikard Grönborg’s team achieved a 1-0 mini-victory. After a rather meager first 40 minutes, the events overturned in the final third. Kris Bennett gave the Ticino the lead after 49 seconds. However, a coach’s challenge from Grönborg caught Bennett offside. A minute later the disc was in the other case: Willy Riedi (43rd) let the “lions” celebrate after a confusing situation. Lugano then pushed for an equaliser, but remained undecided in the end.
Freiburg – Rapperswil-Jona 4: 1
After the perfect start to the season with 2 clear victories, Rapperswil-Jona had to leave the ice as a loser for the first time. At the origin of Freiburg’s first complete success was a strong starting third of the “dragons”. Christoph Bertschy (9th), Mauro Dufner (14th) and Julien Sprunger (18th) ensured a 3-1 lead after just 20 minutes. At the latest with the 4:1 by David Desharnais in the majority – ex-Gottéron striker Roman Cervenka had received a penalty – the signs were set for victory for the hosts. And in fact nothing changed in the result.
Ambri – Davos 4: 3 nP
HC Davos and the shootouts: In the third game, too, the Grisons had to admit defeat in a penalty shoot-out. An early two-goal lead by the Ticino hosts was equalized by HCD in the middle third. The guests also had an answer to Zaccheo Dotti’s 3:2 (45th minute): Andres Ambühl netted 3 minutes before the end of regular time. Because the extra time remained without a goal, the penalties had to decide. There, the HCD again had the worse end for itself. While Tim Heed and Dario Bürgler scored for Ambri, only Leon Bristedt sunk his attempt for Davos.
Train – Geneva 2:5
Servette can continue to rely on his foreigners and his special teams. Teemu Hartikainen (19th) and Henrik Tömmernes (40th) scored the 1-0 respectively. 3:1 in majority. Marco Miranda (46th) managed the shorthander to make it 4:1. EV Zug, who had missed a 45-second double advantage in the middle period, suddenly seemed to wake up from this. Yannick Zehnder (47th) launched the race to catch up in the new edition of the playoff final from 2 years ago. However, this failed because of Robert Mayer, who then no longer had to be defeated in the “Grenat” goal, and Tömmernes’ Empty Netter (58th).
Kloten – Lausanne 1:2 nP
Kloten also lost the second game after being promoted. The people from the airport town had to admit defeat in their first home game in the highest league in four years. Robin Kovacs gave Lausanne the lead after 8 minutes. Almost out of nowhere, Jonathan Ang (49′) saved Kloten into overtime. There, Jesper Peltonen almost secured the extra point for Zurich, but he failed on the crossbar. In the shootout, 3 people from Lausanne scored, but only 2 from Kloten.
SCL Tigers – Ajoie 1: 4
Ajoie can look forward to a strong start to the season. After the 4:2 home win against Freiburg last Saturday, the Jurassians scored their second success in the third game in a 4:1 win at the SCL Tigers. In the entire last season they had only celebrated 9 wins. At the beginning of the final period, the guests made the decisive difference. TJ Brennan and Thomas Thiry doubled the lead from 1-0 to 3-0 in the 44th and 45th minutes. Alexandre Grenier was able to shorten the gap for Langnau, but Guillaume Asselin made everything clear in the 52nd minute.