- The ZSC Lions are ahead in the playoff quarter-final series against Biel thanks to a 4-3 home win.
- The match winner for Zurich is Denis Malgin, who single-handedly brought about the turnaround from 2:3 to 4:3 with two goals.
- There is also no break in the other quarter-final series that opened on Saturday. Fribourg-Gottéron beats Lugano 6:2.
With a double strike in the 46th and 48th minutes, Denis Malgin decided a hard-fought first quarter-final game in favor of the ZSC Lions. Zurich’s top scorer first used a rebound from Joren van Pottelberghe in the power play to make it 3-3 in the home arena. But that wasn’t enough: Malgin crowned an individual performance with a lot of assertiveness in front of the Biel goal with the game-winning goal.
The guests from Seeland opened the final section with a bang. They took the lead for the first time in the game through Luca Cunti in the 44th minute. Fabio Hofer unselfishly passed the ball to his somewhat better-positioned striker colleague in front of the goal. Biel, which had equalized to 2-2 through Toni Rajala before the second siren, suddenly came very close to the Lucky Punch away from home.
Legend:
Acclaimed Zurich match winner
Denis Malgin.
Keystone/Ennio Leanza
Lively exchange of blows
The ZSC initially didn’t notice the twelve-day break after the end of the qualification at all. The Zurich team immediately took the scepter into their hands and endeavored to restrict the opponent at the back. The efforts actually began to bear fruit in the 10th minute when Derek Grant made it 1-0 via a skate from Biel’s Yanik Burren.
The attractive exchange of blows began in the second third. Vinzenz Rohrer narrowly missed making it 2-0 with a shorthander. Immediately after the penalty against Yannick Zehnder expired, Aleksi Heponiemi made it 1-1 at the other end (24th).
However, Willy Riedi was not at a loss for a reaction. In the second attempt, he beat Van Pottelberghe with a backhand to give Zurich another lead (26th) with only his third goal of the season.
This is how it continues
The ZSC Lions also won their fifth encounter this season against Biel. The quarter-final series continues in Biel on Monday evening. The playoffs also begin on Sunday evening for the remaining teams with the games Lausanne – Davos and Zug – Bern.