In the Vaudoise aréna, it’s a Scandinavian duel, so to speak: no fewer than four Finns are responsible for the Vaud team’s goal production, above all Antti Suomela and Ahti Oksanen, who have each contributed three goals and four assists so far. Janne Koukkanen has also scored twice and set up just as many goals. However, the Lausanne newcomer is likely to miss this weekend’s games through injury. The fourth member of the squad is Lauri Pajuniemi. The 24-year-old came to Switzerland this summer from the Malmö Redhawks (SHL) together with Kuokkanen.

The Finns will be joined by five Swedes at EVZ – three on defense and two at forward. It remains to be seen whether the entire quintet will be used in Lausanne. Niklas Hansson is expected to return to the lineup, which means another import player will have to make do with the blanket.

For Dan Tangnes (Norwegian, but also almost Swedish), one thing is clear: “Lausanne has a lot of quality. They play physically, use their bodies – we have to be ready for that.” The Head Coach also clearly states that Zug’s game plan will not be overturned after two defeats in a row: “We played solidly and put in a lot of effort, but were punished bitterly for small mistakes.” The statistics also show this: no other team puts the puck on goal more often per game than EVZ, but the necessary puck luck is missing from time to time. “That will come back at some point.”

Preferably already this weekend – with Lausanne and Bern (Saturday, 7.45 pm in Zug) two opponents are on the program who have three points more on their account with one more game.