On Tuesday evening, EVZ will face HC Lugano for the second time in the 14th round. The two teams already faced each other in the season opener on September 17 – with the better end for Zug on that occasion: Lino Martschini scored the game-winning goal after just 13 minutes and 29 seconds to make it 3:1, while the 2:3 from current top scorer Michael Joly in the 39th minute only cosmetized the result.

The opening defeat was followed by four wins in a row for the Luganesi, who at one point led the standings. However, after eleven games – with two games less – they are only three places ahead of EVZ in 8th place. Most recently, the Bianconeri suffered a 4-0 defeat in Fribourg (two goals went into the empty net) and were only able to make up a deficit in the final period against bottom-placed Ajoie and pick up three points.

The EVZ secured six important points last week thanks to two victories in the two “basement duels” against the same opponents – Gottéron and the Ajoulots. On Saturday, they scratched for the next points against the leaders in Zurich, but ultimately came away empty-handed with a 4:5 loss. The second duel of the season promises to be a real nail-biter, if only because of the current standings of the two teams!

EVZ will be without Mike Künzle, who was suspended for one game after a check on Dean Kukan. The return of Grégory Hofmann is questionable. HC Lugano’s forward Radim Zohorna was unable to finish practice on Monday morning after being hit in the face by a puck.