Ice hockey championships go to the wire
A whole season's work will come down to just one match this weekend when the players of Zurich and Lugano face each other one last time to determine the winners of this year's Swiss ice hockey championships.
An emphatic 5-1 victory over Lugano on Thursday saw the Zurich Lions level the best-of-seven final series at three wins apiece, to set up a dramatic finale on Saturday.
Although the deciding match will be played at Lugano’s Resega stadium, the nature of the Lions’ performance on Thursday appears to have shifted the balance of power back towards the defending champions.
After taking a 3-0 lead in the first period, Larry Huras’s men sealed victory with addition goals from Mathias Seger and Claudio Micheli. Lugano’s only goal of the night was scored while the Lions were reduced to just three outfield players.
But despite seeing his side comprehensively beaten for the second time in three days, Lugano coach Jim Koleff insists that his players still have what it takes to become champions.
“They’re disappointed right now, but we’re not hanging our heads,” Koleff told swissinfo after Thursday’s defeat. “We expected before the series that it could go to seven games, because these are two very equal teams.
“We’re going to play our best game of the series on Saturday and show Zurich what we’ve got,” Koleff continued. “If they think they’ve got the advantage because they’ve won the last two games, that could harm them. They’ve got to win three in a row and we’ll see about that on Saturday.”
Saturday’s deciding match will mark only the third time in the 15-year history of the playoffs that a final series has gone the full distance, and the first time it’s happened under the best-of-seven format.
Despite their fierce rivalry, the supporters of Lugano and the Zurich Lions will have one thing in common right now. With Lugano looking for revenge and the Lions chasing their third win in a row, both sets of fans will be desperate to see the action resume on Saturday.
by Mark Ledsom
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