SC Bern lost in Zug and HC Davos in Lausanne in the seventh quarter-final game – both 0-3. You can cope with this better in Graubünden than in Bern.
In Game 7 in Zug, only the EVZ team is celebrating. Another season ends early for SC Bern.
Imago / Anton Geisser / www.imago-images.de
When Marc Lüthi, the old and new CEO of SC Bern, was asked in an interview with the NZZ before the start of the new season what he expected from his team this winter, he replied: “First and foremost, that we are so combative and perform with spirit, as our followers deserve and demand. Last season we oscillated between district and world class. And of course I expect play-off qualification at the end of the season.”
Now the season ended for the Bernese in the quarter-finals against EV Zug. They lost match 7 of the series 0:3 despite a committed and courageous performance over long stretches. Once again they remained too harmless on offense to defeat the impeccable Zug goalie Leonardo Genoni.
EV Zug wins game 7 against SCB 3-0 and moves into the semi-finals against the ZSC Lions.
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As fifth in the regular season, SCB reached play-off qualification directly. This means that Lüthi’s demands are in principle met. Basically. Because failure in the play-off quarter-finals is not what satisfies the needs of the big club.
HC Davos also failed early
SCB still sees itself as one of the leading clubs in the league – and its CEO also sees it that way. But this is an outdated self-portrait that comes from an era that is finally over. The ZSC Lions, the EV Zug, but now also the Lausanne HC and – particularly bitterly from Bern’s perspective – Fribourg-Gottéron have displaced him in the national hierarchy. The Bernese team’s last title dates back to spring 2019, when they defeated EV Zug 4-1 in the final, not least thanks to an excellent Leonardo Genoni in goal. It was the 16th title in the Bernese club’s history.
SCB is the most successful club in Swiss ice hockey behind HC Davos (31 titles), which lost Game 7 against Lausanne HC on Saturday – also 0-3. Since the introduction of the play-offs in spring 1986, the Bernese team has won the title ten times. To date, no one has been more successful.
But the last five years have been marked by failures and poor personnel decisions. The Finn Kari Jalonen, who won two titles in three years in Bern, had to leave in his fourth season as coach. His successors were Hans Kossmann, Don Nachbaur, Mario Kogler, Johan Lundskog and Toni Söderholm. The only thing they have in common is the failure that sooner or later led to their dismissal.
Jussi Tapola has been leading the club since last autumn. The 49-year-old Finn came into this season as Europe’s Coach of the Year and Finnish champion from Tappara Tampere. When asked what he expected from his new coach in the fall, Lüthi replied: “That he continues with us what he started in Tampere. Before he signed up, I heard from him that he was determined to succeed. Tapola has reached the play-off final 11 times in 13 years and attaches great importance to the performance culture and how the teams he leads perform.”
Now Tapola failed in the quarter-finals in his first season with SCB. Can he still continue his work? During the play-offs there were already rumors that criticism of him was growing in Bern. The name of the little-known Rob Wilson made the rounds. The 55-year-old Canadian-British dual citizen coached the New Castle Vipers in the Elite Ice Hockey League in Great Britain this season.
When asked about the rumor, Lüthi simply growled “nonsense” and relegated it to the realm of the wild speculations of busybodies. However, he reacted similarly a year ago when the rumor that the CEO he had appointed, Raeto Raffainer, was about to be replaced began to circulate. A few months later the change was a fact.
A lot of work awaits Martin Plüss
In the last five years, no season in Bern has taken place without spectacular personnel changes. But this season, the personnel castling has basically already been completed. At the beginning of February, the club announced that the hapless sports director Andrew Ebbett would be leaving SCB at the end of the season and would be replaced by former player Patrik Bärtschi. It was the first personnel decision by the new sports director Martin Plüss, who will not officially take up his job until the summer but is already pulling the strings in the background.
Plüss has a lot of work ahead of him. Despite the somewhat satisfactory season, there are some groundbreaking decisions to be made in Bern. Tapola and his power will undoubtedly be a topic in the season analysis in Bern. The Finn was allowed to do as he pleased. The staff fluctuation in Bern was enormous. Of the total of eight foreigners signed, only the defender Patrik Nemeth and the German-Czech Dominik Kahun were somewhat sufficient. Of all people, the reliable Kahun remained pale in the play-offs and failed to score in seven play-off games. Our own juniors such as defender Mika Henauer (at Rapperswil-Jona) and striker Joshua Fahrni (SCL Tigers) are leaving the club.
Game 7 between Lausanne and HC Davos also ends with a clear result.
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The new sporting leadership has the opportunity to rebuild the team in the foreign positions and to strengthen it in certain areas. In addition to Kahun and Nemeth, only Adam Reideborn and Julius Honka have ongoing contracts. But at least Honka’s future in Bern is uncertain. He has already been temporarily loaned out to Geneva/Servette this season because Tapola doesn’t like his attacking style.
The play-offs continue on Monday
The offensive is the real Achilles heel of the Bernese team. In the last match in Zug, the Bernese team failed to score a goal despite immense effort and 31 shots. In the regular season, the team was only number 8 in the league in terms of goals scored. And the power play rarely met high standards throughout the season. That doesn’t speak for the coach. But whether that will be enough to justify the next change of course seems unlikely, even in traditionally turbulent Bern.
The SCB and the HCD are going into their summer break at Easter. For Zug and Lausanne, however, the season continues on Easter Monday with the semi-finals. The encounters there will be ZSC Lions – EV Zug and Fribourg-Gottéron – Lausanne HC. The first four of the regular season have reached the semifinals. This is a sign that the months-long qualification is not entirely without sporting value.
