Editor note: This is the first of a series of weekly updates on varying European hockey leagues and North American leagues that don’t get much coverage in the media put together by some of the members of Reddit’s r/hockey subreddit. Want to contribute? Contact us, and tell us what league you’re interested in writing about.
Welcome to the first roundup of varying minor hockey leagues that tend not to get the media attention globally, where we will try to keep you informed of what’s happening in hockey worldwide. Each week, a contributor from Reddit’s r/hockey will give a rundown of the past week’s action in their particular league, along with what to look forward to in the next week. As we get close to the playoffs in many European leagues, we will see the tensions that rise.
To jump directly to a league, just click the following links, but if you’re looking for a good hockey read, just start scrolling.
KHL – Pan (Eastern-ish) European League
Hockeyallsvenskan – Swedish 2nd League
Swiss National League A – Swiss 1st League
EIHL WEEKLY ROUNDUP Contribution by Effy (/u/zooey1) – Sheffield Steelers fan, art student, all-round good egg.
League leaders and reigning 14/15 Challenge Cup winners Cardiff Devils had a mixed week, defeating the second-placed and reigning 14/15 regular season champions Sheffield Steelers on Saturday 20th at the Sheffield Arena for the first time ever with a 4-3 win that saw a Steelers goal controversially scrubbed due to an alleged ‘kicking motion’ from forward Tyler Mosienko. Cardiff goals: Kurka [2000 2nd rnd – Hurricanes] (20th goal of season), Lord (11), Martin (25) & Russell [2005 7th rnd – Rangers, 41 games for Blue Jackets in 11/12] (4). Sheffield goals: Mosienko (hat trick).
The next night in Cardiff, Sheffield returned the favour and won for the first time ever at Cardiff’s ‘temporary’ ice rink (they have been there for 10 years and are finally due to move into the new Ice Arena Wales in a couple of weeks) in an exciting 5-4 win. This ensured that while Cardiff retain first place in the standings with 62 points, Sheffield are still well and truly in the race in second place with 60 points (it should also be noted that Cardiff have played one less game than Sheffield). Cardiff goals: Salters (17), Hervato (11), Batch (3) & Kurka (21). Sheffield goals: Mosienko (24 & 25), Stromberg (4 & 5), Roy (26).
Earlier in the week, the Sheffield Steelers picked up vital points in a 4-3 away win against a resurgent 8th placed Manchester Storm team. This game was a big one for both teams, as the Steelers need to keep winning to keep up with the title favourites Cardiff at the top of the table, while the Storm currently occupy the final playoff place but have played 3 games more than the Coventry Blaze and hold a 3 point lead over them. The game-winning goal came with under 2 mins left in the 3rd period from Jeff Legue on a powerplay. Sheffield goals: Legue (12 & 13), Vestberg (13), Ferrara (3). Manchester goals: Toulmin, Sisca (2 goals).
The Manchester Storm would return to form three days later on Saturday with a 7-5 home win over the 6th placed Dundee Stars. Not only did this game have 12 goals, but it also had plenty of penalties; Dundee clocked up 24 mins from 12 infractions, while Manchester clocked up almost twice that with 44 mins for only 13 infractions, the largest penalty coming at the end of the 1st period with a game misconduct due to being 3rd man in on league bad-boy Devin DiDiomete [2006 7th rnd – Flames, played 170 games across 3 seasons for Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL]. Dundee goals: Dickenson [2000 4th rnd – Oilers] (22), Gray (9), Clarkson [brother of current NHLer and former Leaf & Devil David Clarkson] (16), Leinweber (16), Faryna. Manchester goals: Davies, Paton, Salazar (20, 21, 22 – hat trick), Toulmin (17), Swindlehurst (4, first goal for Manchester – started season at Nottingham).
The next night, Manchester would take a valuable 2 points from league basement boys Edinburgh Capitals in a 4-1 away win. Edinburgh have only won 10 games out of 45 this season, and have struggled for a number of years, including not making the playoffs since 2012/13. Manchester goals: Sisca (31), Paton (12), Davies (6), Pacha (6). Edinburgh goals: Bigos (6).
– On either side of their defeat to Manchester, the Dundee Stars had mixed fortunes – falling to the 5th placed Belfast Giants 6-2 in Belfast, while beating the 4th placed Braehead Clan 2-1 at the Dundee Ice Arena. In Belfast, although they took the lead twice in the game, they were unable to hold off a Belfast team that contains former Flyers, Blackhawks, Flames, Coyotes, Oilers & Sharks defenseman Jim Vandermeer. Dundee goals: Brannon (2 & 3) Belfast goals: Radja, Forney [2006 3rd rnd – Thrashers], Benedict (11), Boxill (6), Higgins (10), Beech [1999 1st rnd – Capitals, 198 NHL games w/ Capitals, Penguins, Predators, Blue Jackets & Canucks].
Sunday 21st soon came around and Dundee would end their two game losing streak by defeating early season title favourites Braehead Clan. Clan have recently lost a number of players to injury and have started to slip in the standings, which they must improve in to avoid the ‘chokers’ nickname they currently hold after looking like title favourites the previous season, only to start losing games towards the end of the season and ultimately slip out of contention. In a rather quiet game, Dundee would snatch it on home ice with a 2-1 win. Dundee goals: Faryna (25), Lidhammar (13). Braehead goals: Trimm (9).
– Following their win over the Dundee Stars, the Belfast Giants would make it 3 wins out of 3 for the week, defeating the 3rd placed Nottingham Panthers 6-2 in Belfast and the 9th placed Coventry Blaze 2-1 in Coventry. First, the win over the Panthers was their second 6-2 win on the trot and welcomed as the two have been rivals for a number of years due to both of them being two of the strongest teams in the league. Nottingham goals: Bohmbach (20), Clarke (18). Belfast goals: Shields [2000 6th rnd – Flyers] (14, 15), Radja (25), Ganzak, Forney (17), Beech (19).
The win over the Coventry Blaze will have delighted the Manchester Storm, who are competing with the Blaze for the final playoff spot. Drama ensued during this game, with both teams clocking over 40 PIMs (12 infractions for BEL, 10 for COV); most of the points came from a fight between NHL journeyman Jim Vandermeer and Chris Bruton at the end of the game. Coventry goals: Pietrus (19). Belfast goals: Vandermeer (1), Ganzak (8).
– Third placed and still in title contention, the Nottingham Panthers had a very busy week with 3 games, but were only able to win two. First, they won 2-1 to the Coventry Blaze in Coventry, then came the 6-2 away defeat to the Belfast Giants, before capping off their week with a 4-2 home win against Coventry. In the first game vs Coventry, it was a very close game, with Nottingham’s winner coming with 3 mins before the end of the game. Coventry goals: Robinson (18). Nottingham goals: Kolnik [1999 4th rnd – Islanders, 221 NHL games for Panthers] , Moran [1998 7th rnd – Sabres, also played for CBJ & Canucks] (13).
Following the 6-2 defeat to Belfast, the Panthers would defeat Coventry 4-2 at home to secure a playoff place no matter the results of their remaining games. This delighted the Nottingham fans, as after the playoff quarter finals, the remaining 4 teams enter the Playoff Finals Weekend (2 semi finals on Saturday, 3rd placed game and final on Sunday), which are held at Nottingham’s arena. Nottingham, who signed well-known NHLer Cam Janssen in the off-season, will be hoping to continue to pick up wins and pray that Cardiff and Sheffield to lose if they are to win the league and be in with a chance of winning the Grand Slam (winning the league, playoffs and the Challenge Cup). Coventry goals: Bruton (19), Fisher (11). Nottingham goals: Lawrence [2005 3rd rnd – Lightning] (11), MacMillan [2007 1st rnd – Ducks] (11), Mosey (10, 11).
– Finally, the 4th placed Braehead Clan had a rotten week. First off, they lost to local rivals Fife Flyers 5-1 in ‘Castle Clan’ (AKA on home ice) on Saturday, before losing 2-1 to Conference rivals Dundee Stars in Dundee. The Flyers were hoping to pick up maximum points as they currently sit in 1st place (30gp, 39 points) in the Gardiner Conference, with Dundee in 2nd (28 gp, 35 pts) and Braehead in 3rd (27 gp, 33 pts), yet sit in 7th place of the league (43 gp, 48 pts) while Braehead sit in 4th (44 gp, 53 pts). If Fife are able to continue picking up points while Braehead continue to slip down the table, those positions may well switch around by the end of the season. Fife goals: Dorr (16), Dingle (21), Horne (2), Caig (14, 15). Braehead goals: Aarssen [204 gp for London Knights in OHL] (4).
Standings:
Important games of next week:
Tuesday 23rd:
– Belfast Giants vs Cardiff Devils [Challenge Cup Semi-Final, 2nd leg, Cardiff hold 5-3 lead] (SSE Arena, Belfast) 7:00pm GMT, 2:30pm EST
– Sheffield Steelers vs Nottingham Panthers [Challenge Cup Semi-Final, 1st leg](IceSheffield, Sheffield) 7:30pm GMT, 2:30pm EST
Wednesday 24th:
– Nottingham Panthers vs Sheffield Steelers [Challenge Cup Semi-Final, 2nd leg] (National Ice Centre, Nottingham) 7:30pm GMT, 2:30pm EST
Thursday 25th:
– Fife Flyers vs Cardiff Devils (Fife Ice Arena, Fife) 7:30pm GMT, 2:30pm EST
Friday 26th:
– Nottingham Panthers vs Belfast Giants (National Ice Centre, Nottingham) 7:30pm GMT, 2:30pm EST
Saturday 27th:
– Braehead Clan vs Belfast Giants (Braehead Arena, Glasgow) 7:00pm GMT, 2:00pm EST
– Cardiff Devils vs Coventry Blaze (Big Blue Tent, Cardiff) 7:00pm GMT, 2:00pm EST
– Sheffield Steelers vs Dundee Stars (IceSheffield, Sheffield) 7:00pm GMT, 2:00pm EST
Sunday 28th:
– Coventry Blaze vs Sheffield Steelers (Skydome, Coventry) 5:15pm GMT, 12:15pm EST
– Edinburgh Capitals vs Fife Flyers (Murrayfield Ice Rink, Edinburgh) 5:30pm GMT, 12:30pm EST
– Braehead Clan vs Nottingham Panthers (Braehead Arena, Glasgow) 6:00pm GMT, 1:00pm EST
– Dundee Stars vs Manchester Storm (Dundee Ice Arena, Dundee) 6:30pm GMT, 1:30pm EST
For more information, visit www.eliteleague.co.uk
We look eastward for the next overview, a look at the Kontinental Hockey League
KHL WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by /u/LockstheFox
It’s playoff season in the KHL, and after a dramatic end to the season, the playoffs are already oozing with interesting and surprising storylines.
The first real surprise came in the West. Two home teams were taken down in the first games of their conference quarterfinal series and have lost their home-ice advantage, in a sense. In Helsinki, Jokerit hosted Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, and Torpedo would never trail in this thriller. Nikolai Zherdev struck twice in the first to give the Nizhny Novgorod side a 2-0 lead, but Jesse Joensuu would match that in the second period, which ended with the game tied at 3. The backbreaker for Torpedo came early in the third courtesy a beautiful goal by Alexander Frolov. Alexei Sopin would add an insurance marker (responded to almost immediately by Peter Regin), and Vyacheslav Kulyomin ended the match with an empty netter as Torpedo took it 6-4, following a late misconduct and major penalty by Joensuu.
The second came in Sochi, where the hosts were put to the sword 4-1 by Dynamo Moskva. Not only that, but all of Dynamo’s goals were either by defenders (Dmitry Vishnevsky with two and Juuso Hietanen with one) or a rookie (Ilya Shipov). The lone goal for Sochi came with the game well out of reach, courtesy Yegor Morozov, and now they face a massive Game 2 on home ice.
The other two series in the West went as expected, with the hosts winning, but it wasn’t easy. CSKA withstood a feisty Slovan side (playing without #1 defender Cam Barker due to suspension) to prevail 2-0 in game one of their series in Moscow, while Lokomotiv took care of SKA 3-2 in OT. The latter was made far more interesting by the news afterwards that Ilya Kovalchuk would be scratched for Game 2 in Yaroslavl. It’s not a good look for the defending champions.
Speaking of champions, it wasn’t pretty for 2014 winners Metallurg Magnitogorsk or 2009 and 2010 winners Ak Bars Kazan in the East. Both sides lost their opening games, and Magnitogorsk’s loss was made even uglier by the fact that it was against Ural rival Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on home ice against a goalie, Jakub Ková?, who had only played one game since mid-January. Magnitka were done in by a brace by Alexander Pankov that overturned Alexander Syomin’s opener, giving Avto a shock 2-1 win, while Ak Bars were never really competitive, getting blown out 4-1 by archrivals Salavat Yulaev Ufa (who had a brace from Igor Grigorenko), with the lone goal coming in the dying seconds for the visiting Tatars.
Like the West, the other two series pretty much went according to the script. Sibir Novosibirsk doubled up Admiral Vladivostok 4-2 in Novosibirsk, while Avangard withstood a surprisingly feisty Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in a 2-1 triumph in Omsk.
Will all these teams be left standing next week? Stay tuned to find out.
Current playoff bracket:
We head over to Germany next, where yours truly will give an overview of the happenings in the DEL.
DEL WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by (/u/BoilerUp218)
The story of the week is the focus on playoff hockey, as we round the corner on the season and head towards the playoffs. At the top of the standings, Eisbären Berlin, EHC München, and the Iserlohn Roosters all sit within three points (one win) of first place in the league, with the top two tied at 83 points. With those 83 points, but Berlin and Munich secured their spot in the postseason, a ten team tournament with a bye to the top 6 teams. At the bottom, only one point keeps Hamburg Freezers, with 61, in the playoffs over ERC Ingolstadt. Both teams split this weekend’s matches with a win in regulation and a loss, which means no change in the week in regards to the standings, which is good news for Ingolstadt fans, since the team stopped its four game losing streak, which had dropped them out of a playoff position for the time being.
Standings:
Important games of next week:
Tuesday: Iserlohn vs Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers – Iserlohn can clinch a playoff spot with a win (or an Ingolstadt loss on Wednesday night)
Friday: Straubing Tigers vs Ingolstadt – With only 2 points separating the 11th place and 9th place teams, this could be a game that determines who will make the playoffs.
Sunday: Adler Mannheim vs Hamburg – 8th and 10th place face off for a matchup that could determine home ice in the short 3 game “1st Playoff Round”
Next we head up north to Sweden, with a roundup from both of the top two leagues in the hockey-crazed nation
SHL WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by /u/Jean-Paul_van_Sartre
With only eight regular season games left, the table is starting to solidify. The biggest battle is looking to be between teams 5 through 9, where the reward for a finish in the top 6 is being able to avoid the round of 16 and move straight to the quarterfinals. The hottest teams over the past week has been Frölunda (FHC) and Malmö (MIF), both gathering 8 out of 9 possible points. Frölunda’s performance isn’t that surprising as they’ve had a great season. Malmö, on the other hand, has been struggling all season but through their efforts this week, I think they’ve secured their spot above the regulation zone with an 8 point gap.
Headlines
Kristian Nevalainen became the youngest foreign born scorer in SHL history after scoring the 2-0 goal in Frölunda’s game vs MoDo (MODO) on the 20th. The Finnish born Nevalainen is draft eligible on his 18th birthday, in 2017.
Battle for first place between Skellefteå (SKE) and Frölunda. Frölunda has the better goal difference (+55 vs. +48) but are currently 6 points behind with 24 points left to battle for. The two teams have already played all of their regular season games against each other, so Frölunda will have to rely on the other teams to slow down Skellefteå’s pace. Easier said than done, considering Skellefteå has two games against 13th place team MoDo and one game against 14th place team Karlskrona (KHK) left.
Joel Lundqvist, captain of Frölunda and twin brother of New York Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist, has an undisclosed injury and is day to day. It seems like they’re resting the 33 year old in order to make sure he can stay healthy for a cup run.
Standings
Important games of next week:
Djurgården (DIF) – Frölunda (FHC) (Tue 2016-02-23 19:00 GMT+1)
Two good teams. Frölunda has been good all season and Djurgården is just now hitting their stride as we’re heading into the playoffs. Considering the Joel Lundqvist injury it could be a closer game than the table would tell you.
Brynäs (BIF) – Växjö (VLH) (Wed 2016-02-24 19:00 GMT+1)
Winning or losing this game could very well decide whether they get a free pass to the quarter finals or not as they both need all the points they can get in order to pass Djurgården or Färjestad.
HV71 (HV71) – Färjestad (FBK) (Thu 2016-02-25 19:00 GMT+1)
A hot HV71 vs. a cold Färjestad currently on either side of the quarter finals line.
Skellefteå (SKE) – Färjestad (FBK) (Sat 2016-02-27 16:00 GMT+1)
The two finalists from 2014, good early game for a Saturday on the couch.
Now an overview of Hockeyallsvenskan, Sweden’s second highest league:
HOCKEYALLSVENSKAN WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by (/u/iTegis)
It was a very tough week for the teams in the race for a playoff spot, as there were only 7 points that separated the 12th team (IF Björklöven) and the 7th team (Mora IK) where only the top eight teams make the playoffs.
Asplöven (13th) had the biggest upset of the week when they played a 0-0 game against AIK (1st) for 48:13 until Daniel Olsson-Trkulja scored to give AIK the lead and the win. Ronan Quemener (Asplöven) stopped 34 of 35 shots and posted 97.14% save percentage and Gustaf Lindvall (AIK) stopped all 33 shots he faced.
AIK were also involved in the most lopsided game of the week as well when they beat IF Björklöven 7-2. Daniel Olsson-Trkulja started off the scoring 26 seconds into the 1st period. Björklöven equalized to 1-1 through a breakaway goal from Alex Hutchings. 2 more goals in the 1st and 2 more goals in the 2nd led Björklöven to put their backup goaltender Andreas Ollikainen in the net after Kevin Lindskoug let in 5 goals on only 23 shots. Ollikainen let in 2 goals on the next 10 shots and Björklöven lost 7-2 for the second time in 2 weeks. Robin Rahm (AIK) stopped 24 of 26 shots and Daniel Olsson-Trkulja and Jonathan Andersson both had 3 points (1+2) in the game.
The biggest single performance of the week came in the game between VIK Västerås HK and IK Pantern when Emil Jidskoug (IK Pantern) stopped 48 out of 49 shots. the game ended up being a 1-0 win for Västerås when Eddie Davidsson scored 17:24 into the 2nd period
The playoff race has become even tighter since there is only 4 points between the 12th team (If Björklöven) and the 8th team (IK Pantern) and with 5 games left to play for all teams in the playoff race anything could happen.
Standings:
Important games of next week:
Almost every game next week is going to be important for the teams in the playoff race but these are the games that could have a bigger impact on the standings:
| Home | Away | Day | Reason to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almtuna | Vita Hästen | Monday | Almtuna currently have a playoff spot at 7th place with 73 points and Vita Hästen do not at 9th place with 69 points |
| IK Pantern | Vita Hästen | Friday | This game could have no significance at all but i choose to include it either way since IK Pantern and Vita Hästen currently sit at 69 points each with the same amount of games left |
Live stats from each game are available at www.hockeyallsvenskan.se Games will be played on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
And finally, let’s take a look at Switzerland’s top league,
SWISS NATIONAL LEAGUE A WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by (/u/t0t0zenerd)
This was the ranking in the Swiss league during the international break, which took place from February 6th to February 16th. An asterisk means “qualified for the playoffs”, a plus means “will not make the playoffs”. There are 50 games in the entire season. My wrapup concerns the games from that point until today. Since some games are happening this evening and conclude at 4pm Eastern, I will probably describe them in the comments.
1.Zurich 45/88 *
2.Genève 45/83 *
3.Zoug 44/81 *
4.Davos 44/79 *
5.Lugano 46/75 *
6.Fribourg 47/69
7.Lausanne 47/64
8.Kloten 45/61
9.Berne 46/61
10.Ambri 46/60
11.Langnau 45/51
12.Bienne 45/46 +
As you can see, while some rankings are already set, the fights for a playoff berth and for position in the top half are still on. For those confused, every game grants 3 points here: a win in regulation grants 3 points to the winning team and 0 to the losing one, while a win in OT or in a shoot-out, grants 2 points to the winning team and 1 to the losing one.
On Tuesday Feb 16, there were three games: Davos (4) @ Geneva (2) Zug (3) @ Langnau (11) Kloten (8) @ Zurich (1)
And in all three, logic was upset as the lower-ranked team triumphed! In Geneva, Davos started strong and took a 2-0 lead in the first period. A Geneva powerplay at the start of the second should have allowed them to mount a comeback, but in a trademark quick break Davos scored a short-hander to put themselves three goals up. Geneva struck back in the same powerplay but Davos’ usual speed gave them two more goals to finish the period at 5-1. The third was largely anecdotal, as the result was not in doiubt. Davos scored one final goal to get themselves a 6-1 victory and a jump into second place.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071147
It had all started so well for Zug as Zangger fired home a slapshot five minutes in the game, but the home team fought back and equalised off a Bucher tip in front of goal. Late in the second, Zug scored a textbook power play goal to put themselves back on top. As time went on in the third, pressure mounted on the Langnau Tigers to equalise. Anton Gustafsson’s shot five minutes from the end is sent back by the post, but Clark is there to put the rebound home and send the Ilfis faithful to euphoria. Is this where it ends? No! Zug get a penalty and at the end of Langnau’s powerplay Kyle Wilson takes advantage of a scrum in front of Stephan’s goal to fire and create pandemonium. Langnau 3, Zug 2, final score.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071112
On to Zurich where the league leaders took on their local rivals! Kloten had seemed out of the playoff fight a few weeks prior, sinking to eleventh place, but a string of good result had put them back in a playoff berth at the international break. They were now hoping to add on to this, and maybe steal seventh place from Lausanne. At the start of the game, Kloten took the advantage off a disastrous Zurich clearance, but only 18 seconds later Dominik Diem fired in the top corner to put things even. In the middle of the first, the away team get another goal, perhaps a bit luckily as a Collenberg shot is tipped by a Zurich defenseman over the goalie’s head. Kloten add another goal at the end of the first with a wristshot by Praplan straight off the faceoff. But Zurich is proud and does not want to lose: they fire back at the beginning of the first with Baltisberger, popping the puck between Gerber’s legs, and then equalise at the 52nd minute with a superb shot from Siegenthaler, the kind that cleans the top corner. The game goes to a shootout, and Kloten claims the derby and the extra point by scoring three whereas Zurich stay still.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071263
On Friday Feb 19, there were three games: Zug (4) @ Biel (12) Ambri (10) @ Lugano (5) Langnau (11) @ Davos (3)
Zug start off well in Biel, with Emanuel Peter (former Biel player) scoring off a wrist-shot after just over two minutes. A few minutes later, they almost double their advantage, but Rytz stops the shot and the puck gets to Spylo, who fires it into the net for an equaliser. Second period is all Zug as Suri scores on the powerplay, and then Martschini putting them further ahead after some nice work from Holden and Schnyder in the corner. But Biel won’t let go: new recruit Dostoinov scores just after the break, after which a tense ten minutes follow, with many penalties including fighting on both sides. As both teams go to the bench for a change, space opens up for Dufner on the opposite wing. He shoots, the post goes ding, the net goes swoosh and the crowd goes mad. However, Biel aren’t in last place way behind everyone else for nothing, and a horrible but all too typical defensive error puts Martschini alone in front of goal four minutes from the end. He coolly slots it home, breaking Biel hearts but putting Zug back in second.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071236
Ambri-Lugano is the derby del Ticino, the game between the two Italian-speaking teams in the league and the most hotly contested rivalry in the country. To say it’s much anticipated would be an understatement, especially as Ambri fight for a place in the playoffs. It begins with an Ambri goal after seven minutes, by Jason Fuchs who pushes it behind the goalie. It proceeds with a long period without goals and without much happening until Freddie Pettersson scores at the very end of the second. The goal is quite controversial as Klasen is in the goalie’s zone as it is scored, but what would a derby be without controversy? At the beginning of the third, a strong wristshot by Sidler puts Ambri back in front, but twelve seconds later Luca Fazzini sets things square with an equaliser that, honestly, can be laid at Ambri ‘tender Zurkirchen’s door. At the 56th minute Linus Klasen puts the winner in, once again though after a less than steller performance for Zurkirchen. The same Klasen will then put another in the empty net, granting Lugano the three points and, no less importantly, the bragging rights.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071138
Davos are quick to take the advantage at home: after just 43 seconds, Marcus Paulsson puts his team in front. But Langnau fire back less than two minutes later, with Wilson on the power-play, and after five minutes Kevin Clark puts them in front after Gustafsson intercepts a pass in the defensive zone. In the second, Picard sets things back equal in a tense situation in front of goal, after which Setoguchi goes behind the goal, turns around on himself, sees Aeschlimann at the far post who just has to slot it in. But just two minutes later Langnau are back even off a goal by Albrecht. Picard gives the advantage back to Davos just before the end of the period, but at the 53rd minute Albrecht puts another, helped by a monstrous error from Davos ‘tender Gilles Senn. Yves Müller scores the winning goal for Langnau five minutes later on the four on four. Are Langnau back in the mix for a playoff berth?
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071177
On Saturday Feb 20, there were four games: Biel (12) @ Ambri (10) Davos (4) @ Zug (2) Geneva (3) @ Kloten (8) Lausanne (7) @ Fribourg (6)
Ambri host Biel in what has become a must win game for the Ticinese. Their loss to Lugano left them three points behind a playoff berth, and unlike their competitors, they have just three games still to go, not four. Biel, on the other hand, can do little but wait, as their terrible ranking means even the 10th place, which would prevent any risk of relegation, seems out of their grasp. About halfway through the first period, Giroux pushes the puck between Rytz’s legs to put Ambri up by one. Less than a minute later, an awful mistake by Biel defenseman Marco Maurer gave Bianchi the opportunity to double that lead. And late in the period, Emmerton scores on a soft rebound left by Rytz, prompting Biel’s coach to sub him out and put Meili, who immediately makes a massive mistake, causing Pestoni’s 4-0 and killing any suspense left in the game. Olausson’s reduction off Zurkirchen’s back and Mäenpää’s final goal on a shot Meili really should’ve stopped were the anecdotical last episodes of a game which will probably not stay in Swiss hockey history, as Biel proved again why they were sat in last place eleven points behind anyone else.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071295
Zug-Davos! Now that, on the other hand, is a sexy bill, between two teams in the upper reaches of the ranking, separated by just two points and fighting for 2nd place, and which in addition are both famous for their open and fast playing style. Indeed, a pretty if maybe involuntary tic-tac-toe nets Simion the first goal for Davos. A quick one-two between Kessler and Dino Wieser gets Davos two up. On the other hand, the third Davos goal in the period is clearly a defensive error by Zug, as three of their players, on the penalty kill, decide to bunch around Marc Wieser. When he manages to get the puck out of the swarm his colleagues are alone and Simion can slot his second of the game. In the middle of the game Martschini reduces the score on a penalty shot. Halfway through the third Dino Wieser gets a match penalty for check against the head, and gives Zug a man-advantage for five minutes. Surely if they want to equalise, now’s the time! Alas, they score only one, and even though it’s a peach of a goal, a textbook powerplay operation by Holden, Bouchard and Immonen, it’s not enough, especially as Axelsson and Lindgren, a few minutes later, combine for one of the most beautiful goals on the rush you’ll ever see, and put their team back two up. 4-2, final score, Davos move to third and Zug fall to fourth.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071162
Geneva go to Kloten for a game that both team will consider important, as Geneva fight to get second place back and Kloten try to hold on to a play-off berth. It’s the visitors who have the better start as youngster Damien Riat puts a wristshot in the top left corner, completely out of Tinu Gerber’s reach. Ten minutes later, at the 23rd minute, Geneva get a two-on-one and even though Romy’s shot is far from perfect Gerber still can’t parry it. To be entirely honest, old Martin should have retired a while ago. Ten more minutes and Bezina hammers in a slapshot on the powerplay to kill any remaining suspense. Roland Gerber gets the 4-0 off an audacious pass by ‘tender Mayer and some nice work behind the goal from Sharks prospect Rod. James Sheppard saves Kloten’s honour with a nice tip on the powerplay, but it was all over long ago. Kloten remain 8th, Geneva get to 2nd.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071178
Fribourg-Lausanne is an interesting game for a number of reasons: it’s something of a local rivalry, though it’s less fierce than it once was, and especially it’s a game between 6th and 7th. The winning team is pretty much assured to make the playoffs; the losing one will be back in the mix. To make a long story short, Fribourg won and it wasn’t even close, as Lausanne, one of the best defenses but by far the worst offense in the league, went back to their bad old ways and couldn’t seem to score on an empty soccer goal. Fribourg’s performance can hardly be called perfect, but they scored a nice goal by promising youngster Rathgeb in the first, weathered Lausanne’s (relative) domination in the second, and then exploited a rare error by usually stellar Lausanne goaltender Cristobal Huet in the beginning of the third. Usual suspects Andrei Bykov and Julien Sprunger got their daily point by combining for an empty net 3-0 goal, and Fribourg could celebrate playoff qualification and begin wondering who would be third and end up as their opponents in the playoffs, since their own ranking was very much set.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071298
On Sunday Feb 21, there was one game: Bern (10) @ Zurich (1)
Playing after your rivals is always an advantage, and so on Sunday morning Bern players woke up with a clear sense of their situation: Kloten and Lausanne’s defeats gave them a golden opportunity to be in a playoff spot with a game in hand, but Ambri’s win meant that in case of a loss, they’d be tenth. Zurich are only three points clear from Geneva and would probably appreciate a third consecutive regular season win, so they’re not exactly playing for fun either. A trademark Zurich tic-tac-toe between Matthews, Seger and Nilsson put Zurich in the lead, but Alain Berger scored an equaliser with a tip-off in front of goal. After that though, it was all Zurich. A quick rush, a great pass from Malgin and an unstoppable shot from Wick make a 2-1 lead, after which Caps prospect Siegenthaler scores with a bomb of a wristshot in the top corner off a Matthews assist. After a rather uneventful third period, Auston Matthews, who you’ll be proud to know is almost successfully growing a beard, scored a goal in his usual place in front of goal. Plüss then cut the Zurich lead after a pretty bad mistake by Marc-André Bergeron, and Baltisberger finally sealed it in the empty net. Zurich comfortably back on top, Bern still contemplating another humiliating stay outside the playoffs.
Video highlights: http://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20161105071281
Standings:
So that sums up our weekly European hockey roundup, we hope you enjoyed. Leave a comment here or on Reddit with your thoughts.