Davos gain further ground on Lions

Five goal hero Miller (middle) is congratulated by his Davos team mates Keystone

Two big win in two days have lifted Davos to within three points of the Zurich Lions at the top of the Swiss ice hockey league. On Sunday Davos added an 8-1 win over La Chaux-de-Fonds to Saturday's 6-2 roasting of Ambri.

Following Saturday’s 3-3 draw in Langnau, Sunday was a day of rest for the Lions and Davos took full advantage. The chief architect of their success was controversial American forward Kevin Miller.

Miller was handed an eight-match ban by the league last week, for violent behaviour during last month’s match between Davos and Zurich. But after Davos launched an appeal the league allowed the American to play in this weekend’s games.

The club’s efforts certainly paid off on Sunday, with Miller scoring five of the team’s eight goals. It was the first time in seven years that any player has scored five goals in the Swiss league.

Two goals from André Baumann and one from Sandro Rizzi completed La Chaux-de-Fond’s annihilation, with defender Roger Öhman scoring the bottom side’s only goal.

Ambri slipped down from third to fifth place after suffering their second defeat of the weekend, a 4-1 loss in Berne.

Ambri’s slide coincided with wins for two of the league’s most in-form sides. Lugano moved up to third, recording their fourth win in a row by beating Langnau 3-1.

Rapperswil meanwhile extended their winning run to seven matches, a hat trick from Mike Richards helping the club to a 5-3 win in Kloten.

In Sunday’s other match Chur put some distance between themselves and La Chaux-de-Fonds at the bottom of the table. Two goals from Latvian striker Harlis Witolinsch saw Chur on their way to a 4-1 home win over Zug.

swissinfo with agencies