HC Davos managed a coup against Team Canada for the second time in a row. Compared to the 2-1 result a year ago, this time the prestigious duel had an enormous amount of spectacle and a miraculous turnaround to offer. Because after two thirds the Davos team already looked like the sure losers before they started the final fireworks in the third third.
Davos turns the game around in the final third
The foundation for this was Michael Fora’s early goal in the 42nd minute. The defender scored from a distance after careful preparatory work by Biel loanee Jesper Olofsson and thus definitely brought back the hopes of the enthusiastic home crowd.
But they had to wait almost 10 minutes until the longed-for equalizer came. But this one was a real treat. The eye-catching Henrik Haapala, Lausanne’s backup player, set up perfectly for captain Andres Ambühl, who beat substitute goalie Aaron Dell with his backhand – a stroke of genius from the HCD veteran.
But that wasn’t enough: 6 minutes later, Calle Andersson, on loan from Lugano, completed a quick and impressive attack to make it 4-3. Despite a power play, Team Canada was unable to respond to this.
HCD is caught off guard twice
Throughout the entire game, HC Davos was the more committed team, which is why the prestigious win at the end did not come about by chance. The fact that the Grisons were 1:3 behind after two periods was mainly due to small indiscipline, which were coldly punished by the “Ahorn Leaves”.
Not even 5 minutes had been played when Team Canada was able to celebrate for the first time. Josh Jooris was left criminally alone in the slot and beat HCD goalie Gilles Senn with a powerful direct shot. After Haapala’s equalizer midway through the game (31′), the momentum was clearly on the side of Davos, who had become even stronger in the middle third.
What followed, however, was a Canadian one-two punch practically out of nowhere:
- 38th minute: First Michael Joly, who was completely forgotten in front of the goal and is hunting for goals in the National League for Lugano, deflects a shot from Zac Leslie to make it 2-1 for Canada.
- 40th minute: Shortly afterwards, his club colleague John Quenneville shoots from a distance with a wrist shot. Because Enzo Corvi makes an unfortunate distraction, the disc ends up in the box again behind Senn.
This is how it continues
By winning the group, HC Davos will have a break on Friday. The Davos team will then be challenged in the first semi-final on Saturday afternoon. Team Canada has to play an additional round and will face Kalpa Kuopio on Friday evening. Both games can be seen live on SRF zwei.