Lausanne HC are in fourth place in the home table with 35 points in 17 matches – one point and one place ahead of EVZ. In the overall standings, the Vaud team is ten points ahead of Zug, although they have played two games less. The hosts have won each of the previous head-to-head meetings: EVZ 4:2 in the OYM hall at the beginning of October and Lausanne 5:2 in the Vaudoise aréna at the end of November.

In that game, Zug defenceman David Sklenička scored his sixth and so far last goal. The 29-year-old Czech is number 6 among all defencemen in the league with 20 points. The number 1 is Lausanne’s Erik Brännström – with 15 goals and 15 assists. With this tally, he is ahead of all Zug players. Dominik Kubalík is EVZ’s top scorer with 16 goals and 13 assists. Lausanne’s Austin Czarnik (11 goals, 25 assists) is currently the most successful points scorer in the league.

The LHC’s form curve is pointing downwards: It lost its last two games, against SC Bern 2:3 after overtime and against Genève-Servette HC 3:7. Before that, Lausanne had won seven in a row. Zug have won three of their last four NL games. Most recently, Head Coach Michael Liniger’s team made a strong impression in a 3:2 win on penalties against leaders HC Davos. This bodes well for their performance in the Vaudoise aréna. The EVZ has lost there five times in a row. The last success dates back to March 2023, when Zug won 5:0. Of the scorers at the time, only Tobias Geisser is still in the Zug squad today. His cousin Mischa Geisser, Robin Antenen and Loris Wey are with the U20 national team at the World Championships in Minnesota.