With the 6:1 victory against TPS Turku, the EVZ qualified early for the knockout round in the Champions Hockey League.
A year ago, the EVZ missed the jump into the knockout phase for the first time after three first places with a 1:6 home defeat against Red Bull Munich in the sixth and last group game. In this year’s competition, the Zugers are already definitely qualified for the round of 16 after four of six games. Because the pursuers Grizzlys Wolfsburg and TPS Turku still play each other twice, they can no longer be ousted from the top two places.
The claim of the EVZ, however, is the group victory. This was underlined on Saturday in front of almost 4,000 spectators with the clear 6:1 against TPS Turku. The victory against the Finnish playoff finalist of last season was deserved even in this amount, almost a small demonstration of power of the Swiss champions, who convinced with speed, pressure and a compact team performance. The forward line with center Brian O’Neill and wingers Peter Celhárik and Lino Martschini is getting in better and better shape and left the ice with a plus-4 record. Luca Hollenstein was the backstop of a strong defense and missed the shutout by 197 seconds. Niklas Hansson scored two more points and remains at the top of the scorer’s list with 8 points.
The crowd chanted “Swiss champions” almost euphorically after the sixth goal. Head Coach Dan Tangnes tried to keep the puck flat after the fourth win in the fourth CHL game: “I’m very happy with the start and pleased about the early playoff qualification. But we still have a long way to go if we want to reach our lofty goal!” Conclusion: EVZ has definitely found the competitive rhythm in the CHL and is ready for the start of the national championship next Friday in Bern!
EVZ-TPS Turku 6:1 (1:0. 1:0, 4 :1). BOSSARD Arena, 3’853 spectators. – Goals: 7. Martschini 1:0. 21. Cehlarík 2:0. 41. Hansson 3:0. 48. Herzog 4:0. 51. O’Neill 5:0. 52. Hofmann 6:0. 57. Rech 6:1.
The CHL Group B at a glance
Game Day 1: Grizzlys Wolfsburg-EVZ 2:5, TPS Turku-Olimpija Ljubljana 3:2.
Game Day 2: TPS Turku-EVZ 0:4, Grizzlys Wolfsburg-Olimpija Ljubljana 7:2.
Game Day 3: EVZ-Grizzlys Wolfsburg 4:3 n.V., Olimpija Ljubljana-TPS Turku 2:4.
Game Day 4: EVZ-TPS Turku 6:1, Olimpija Ljubljana-Grizzlys Wolfsburg 0:4.
Intermediate ranking:
1. EVZ 4/11 (19:6)
2. Grizzlys Wolfsburg 4/7 (16:11)
3. TPS Turku 4/6 (8:14)
4. Olimpija Ljubljana 4/0 (6:18)
