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After the 2:3 against Canada there is no disillusionment in the Swiss camp – because the defeat is explainable.
In an intense sixth group game in Prague, Switzerland once again had to admit defeat to the motherland of ice hockey at a World Cup after two recent wins. However, the defeat, the first in this tournament, could have been avoided given the way the game went.
Before the match penalty against Kevin Fiala in the middle third, the national team was actually on track after Romain Loeffel’s 2-1. But then the wind changed. “The penalty definitely threw us out of rhythm,” said coach Patrick Fischer. “It just got wild. If you have to play box play for so long, it becomes difficult for the defenders.”
Siegenthaler criticizes the flood of penalties
Jonas Siegenthaler also saw the loss of momentum as the reason for the 2:3. «Sometimes you have to pull yourself together and think about what kind of hit you’re going to make. “It was a bit unfortunate,” said the defender, analyzing the fateful scene in which Fiala drove around his opponent Dylan Cozens on the open ice. But it would be too easy to blame Siegenthaler on Fiala. “We still want toughness. “We generally took too many penalties in this game.”
Compliments to the boys, they fought and tried to equalize.
In fact, all of Canada’s goals came on the power play. “Our outnumbered game was definitely not that good. There were moments when we had to let them dictate,” said Nino Niederreiter, who also mourned a missed chance shortly before the end when he himself had the 3-3 on his stick: “Looking back, I probably would have missed the cross pass Have to play hard.”
Although the national team will certainly miss out on winning the group, according to Fischer they are still on the right track. “Compliments to the boys, they fought and tried to equalize.”
On Tuesday, Switzerland faces another big challenge in the form of Finland before the knockout phase. And if the quarter-finals are survived, the paths with Canada could theoretically cross a second time. “Who knows, maybe we’ll see Canada again,” says Fischer.