Fribourg-Gottéron won 3-2 on penalties in Bern in a crucial match for the play-offs. These two points brought back by the Freibourgese could be worth a lot in the weeks to come.
There was tension in the capital for this match which could allow the Bernese to approach sixth place. Alas, Toni Söderholm’s players ended up giving up. They were caught cold by Andrei Bykov’s first goal of the season after less than 2 minutes on a suicidal serve from Ramon Untersander. Christian Dubé’s players benefited from a 5 against 3 for 1’53”. Christoph Bertschy then found the opening for the 2-1 Friborg (47th). The German Dominik Kahun equalized with a wrist shot (52nd) in a very closed meeting in front of the stake. The Fribourgeois could have made the difference in extra time but Philippe Wütrich multiplied the stops of great class.
A minimalist but determined Genève-Servette managed to subdue Kloten (3-1) after having experienced a resounding new start with an opener from Vincent Praplan worthy of a baseball action. Then Teemu Hartikainen scored his 22nd goal of the season on a service from his favorite friend Linus Omark (18th) at 5 against 4. Then as often lately, Jan Cadieux’s players tensed up. This was seen as soon as the second period resumed when Miro Aaltonen reduced the score after 18” of play. The Genevans had lost their luster. They were nearly joined on the second-period siren. Jonathan Ang scored after an unlikely caper from Robert Mayer. Alas, the Genevans were saved by the gong for a few tenths of a second, the time was up. They are thus celebrating a fifth success in a row and seem to be cementing their first place more and more.
Lausanne wins in Zurich
Casually, Lausanne HC won their third match in a row. The Vaudois were able to perfectly exploit their physical freshness (3-1) against the Zurich Lions, who were playing their fourth match in six days. Czech Jiri Sekac opened the scoring for LHC in the 15th minute, but 45” later Garett Roe surprised Finnish keeper Eetu Laurikainen for the equaliser. The Austrian Michael Raffl gave the advantage to his colors as soon as the second period resumed before the Finn Miikka Salomäki made the decision in the 50th.
Bienne ended a series of four defeats with a success on the ice of Ajoie (3-0). Beat Forster found himself in the right place in front of Tim Wolf’s goal for the opener for the Seelanders (19th). Gaëtan Haas (21st) and Mike Künzle (45th) then made the difference. Biel thus retains its second place. Ajoie experienced another pointless weekend.
Davos won a victory that could be crucial for a direct qualification in the play-off. Graubünden beat Zug 1-0 thanks to a goal from Dennis Rasmussen on the power play (40th). They fend off their evening opponent to eight points
Thanks to his 3-2 success on the ice of the Langnau Tigers, Ambri-Piotta went back in front of his evening opponent to find himself eleventh, one point behind Lugano, the last to qualify for the pre-play-off.
/ATS
