The final seconds before the siren were decisive three times. Only thanks to the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers’ 2:1 winning goal against Davos 50 seconds before the end and the simultaneous 4:1 home win against Lausanne did the EVZ move back ahead of the HCD in fourth place in the 52nd and final qualifying round. Two days earlier, the central Swiss had recklessly surrendered home ice advantage to the Grisons team with a defeat in Kloten. Keijo Weibel scored the 3:2 for the Flyers 22 seconds before the siren. If the teams had been tied on points, the record champions would have had their noses in front with 7-5 points despite winning 2-2. In Zug’s 5-4 victory after a penalty shootout in the last head-to-head duel on February 11 in Landwassertal, Josh Holden’s team gained this advantage with the one point. Daniel Vozenilek deflected a shot from top scorer Lino Martschini 65 seconds before the end to make it 4:4 and save the visitors into overtime. These two points also gave EVZ home ice advantage and their 33rd playoff appearance since being promoted back to the top division in 1987.
“The opponent was never an issue before this decisive game against Lausanne. We simply wanted home-ice advantage,” commented a relieved Reto Kläy after the win against the league leaders. “Although the team was decimated by injuries and illnesses, they showed character – especially the young players!”
EVZ against record champions HC Davos. Dan Tangnes against Josh Holden. Three championship titles against 31. Reto Kläy doesn’t care: “It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. Every team is strong in this league!”
HCD Head Coach Josh Holden is a legend at the EVZ. He ended his active career in Zug in 2018 after 19 professional seasons, wore the EVZ jersey as a player from 2008-18 and was Assistant Coach under Dan Tangnes from 2018-23. In 2023, he moved to Graubünden as Head Coach for the first time and won the Spengler Cup with HCD once again after 2011. Despite the unfortunate elimination in the 7th play-off quarter-final against Lausanne (3:4), his contract with HCD was extended until the end of the 2026/27 season. Goaltenders Sandro Aeschlimann and Luca Hollenstein, defensemen Nico Gross and Calle Andersson as well as assistant coaches Waltteri Immonen and Glen Metropolit also have a Zug past. On the other side, goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni and forwards Dario Simion, Grégory Hofmann, Fabrice Herzog and Nando Eggenberger all played for HCD in the past.
The last time EVZ met HCD in the playoffs was in the 2021/22 semi-finals, back then under Head Coach Christian Wohlwend. The Zug team won 4-0 on their way to the championship title. Since the playoffs were introduced in the 1985/89 season, the two clubs have met three times in the quarter-finals, four times in the semi-finals and once in the final. EVZ is 5:3 ahead in these statistics after wins. On the other hand, HCD leads 7:5 on points after the four games of the 2024/25 regular season.
The four results of the regular season:
EVZ-Davos 2:6
Davos-EVZ 3:2
EVZ-Davos 4:1
Davos-EVZ 4:5 nach Penaltyschiessen
Dan Tangnes, Reto Kläy and Josh Holden are good friends and have a shared passion: wine. Who will be looking back on the current season with a smile on their face when they toast in a few weeks’ time? For all of them, the playoff quarter-finals are just a stopover. Reto Kläy is aware of the difficulty of the first task: “Davos is a dangerous opponent, the odds are 50:50!”
