The second-to-last home game in the 2023/24 qualifiers will once again be played in front of the home fans. They remain loyal to their team even in a difficult period with eight defeats in a row, as the average attendance of 7,024 (stadium capacity: 97.56%) proves!

EVZ versus Geneva-Servette: The match-up brings back memories of the Champions Hockey League final on February 20 of this year, which Geneva won 3:2 against Swedish representative Skellefteå AIK. EVZ CEO Patrick Lengwiler experienced the first victory of a Swiss and not Finnish or Swedish team in the European club competition on site – a year earlier, his EVZ had missed this opportunity in the semi-final against the eventual European champions Tappara Tampere.

The game also brings back memories of March 2, 2023, the exact same date and the second-to-last game of the 2022-23 regular season, which was also EVZ-Genf-Servette. Zug won 6:1 and clinched sixth place and direct playoff qualification in the final round with a 5:0 win in Lausanne at the expense of Fribourg. The playoff semi-final against the same opponents then marked the end of the 2022-23 season, while Geneva won the first championship title in the club’s history with a 4-3 win over Biel in the final. Two years earlier, in the 2020/21 coronavirus season and in the best-of-five format, they had lost 3-0 to EVZ in their third appearance in the final.

The facts two rounds before the end of the 2023/24 regular season, after the 3:7 defeat against league leaders ZSC Lions: Lausanne in third place has a three-point lead over EVZ and will host Zug, who can still finish third, at home on Monday. Looking back: SC Bern are four points behind and can still overtake EVZ. Davos and Lugano in 6th and 7th place can still finish on the same number of points in the best-case scenario. If two teams are tied on points, the direct comparison is decisive. Here, EVZ has the edge over Bern (3:1 wins) and Lugano (3:1 wins). The head-to-head against Davos is even, with the better goal difference over all 52 regular season games counting. The Zug team is certain to qualify directly for the playoffs.

After Tuesday’s 4-0 defeat in Lausanne and Thursday’s 4-3 loss at home to Ambri, Geneva now only have a theoretical chance of finishing sixth and qualifying directly for the playoffs. The 2024 CHL winners are also behind in the season standings against Zug with three defeats so far. At least statistically positive prospects. If only it weren’t for the many injuries…