Ready for the title defense mission

The U20 Elite team dominated the regular season and will face the Fribourg-Gottéron Young Dragons in the playoff quarter-finals on Wednesday, March 5.

The U20 Elite team scored over 100 points in the regular season for the third time in a row and finished the season in first place. Head coach Thomi Derungs’ team once again impressed with its enormous balance. Kevin Haas is the first Zug player on the scorers’ list in 10th place (39 points). Loris Wey follows in 18th place with 34 points. The 19-year-old is one of seven U20 Elite players who have made appearances in the NL team – four of whom have signed a professional contract with EVZ for next season. In addition to Loris Wey, these are Robin Antenen, Nic Balestra and Mischa Geisser.

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Another indication of Zug’s superiority in qualifying is the lowest number of penalty minutes in the league. The number of goals conceded by goalie Matia Birchler is also unrivaled. He is the only player to concede fewer than two goals per game (1.92). He and his team will face the Fribourg-Gottéron Young Dragons in a best-of-five series in the playoff quarter-finals. A look at the four encounters in the regular season promises an exciting series: all games ended with a one-goal difference, three of them after a shootout. The Zug team won 7 out of 12 points. The first quarter-final game will take place on Wednesday, March 5 (7 p.m., OYM).

The Young Dragons are coached by Jeff Campbell, the long-time Swiss League player for SC Langenthal. The Canadian took over the team in 2023 after it had twice finished in last place. The team has now managed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time. Meanwhile, EVZ Head Coach Thomi Derungs is aiming to successfully defend the title. Last year, the title came at the end of a legendary final against EHC Biel-Bienne Spirit. The Zug team turned around a 0:3 deficit in the second match and won after overtime.