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Zurich Lions beat Fribourg Gottéron

Fribourg Gottéron have two more chances left to reach the play-offs Keystone Archive

Fribourg Gottéron have missed an opportunity to clinch a place in the play-off round in Switzerland's national ice hockey first division. They went down on Thursday to second-placed Zurich Lions 3-5.

Spectators who came to see the Lions win were not disappointed at the Hallenstadion in Zurich. The pace was set by the Lions in the second period, with goals by Zeiter and Micheli.

Fribourg’s response only came in the third period, with goals by Mario Rottaris and Robert Slehofer. They brought the score back to 2-3, and then 3-4.

The Lions then dealt Fribourg a final blow with Jaks, who scored the fifth goal after 49 minutes.

Fribourg have two more opportunities to reach the coveted eighth position, which will mean they don’t have to take part in the relegation play-offs. They get their next chance on Saturday against Langnau, who are currently one place ahead.

Fribourg’s defeat was welcomed by Rapperswil-Jona, who have qualified for the play-offs for the fifth time in six years.

Three teams will be struggling to grab the last available place for the play-offs: Langnau (40 points), Fribourg (38 points) and Ambri (37 points).

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR