“I have full confidence in the team – we can do it”

In recent months, the EVZ Women’s Team has faced no other opponent as often as HC Davos Ladies: Including preparation and the semi-final in the National Cup, the two teams have already faced each other in seven games. The Zug team won six of them, including the most recent in mid-February in the PostFinance Women’s League (1:0) – this victory meant direct playoff qualification. Now there are at least three more matches to come in the playoff semi-finals. The best-of-five series begins on Saturday, March 8, in the BOSSARD Arena (game starts at 5.30 p.m.).

The Davos team won the play-in series against HC Fribourg-Gottéron 2-0. They followed up an 8:1 win at home with a 5:2 victory away from home. Once again outstanding: Elizabeth Lang. The runner-up on the regular season’s top scorer list contributed five points in the two games. In the four championship encounters with Zug, she scored four goals and provided two assists. She also scored twice in the 3:7 defeat in the Cup semi-final. The HCAP Girls won the second play-in series (2:0 against the ZSC Lions). The girls from Ticino will now face regular-season winners SC Bern.

“It’s going to be a very close series,” says EVZ forward Noemi Ryhner, looking ahead to the encounter with HC Davos Ladies, ”details will decide the outcome.” She would not have thought that the Grisons team would have prevailed so clearly in the play-in games. There is respect for the opponents, but no fear: “I have full confidence in the team – we can do it,” Noemi Ryhner is convinced. The 24-year-old from Baar recently extended her contract by three years, until the end of the 2027/28 season. This commitment is a matter of course for her. “I grew up here and feel at home. For me, there is only Zug,” says Noemi Ryhner. The other organizations are also aware of this. “Everyone knows that it’s actually impossible for me to move away from EVZ,” she says and laughs.

Now the forward and her teammates are fighting to win their third title of the current season, after the EWHL Euro Cup and the National Cup. No team has achieved this since the ZSC Lions in 2013. “It’s crazy what’s happened in such a short space of time,” says Noemi Ryhner. She and her teammates want to live up to the motto they set before the start of the season, “Together. All The Way”, which was set before the start of the season, right to the end. The team has given itself an additional motto for the playoffs. What that is remains an internal matter. The only thing that is clear is that this motto should also lead the EVZ to the Swiss championship title.

Saturday’s match will be marked by International Women’s Day. This year’s motto for the day is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”. The EVZ is also sending out a strong signal for the promotion of women’s and girls’ ice hockey with its “Women & Girls Program”. The aim is to get more girls interested in ice hockey and ensure equal promotion. The EVZ not only wants to be a central point of contact for women’s ice hockey in Central Switzerland, but also to establish itself as a role model among Swiss professional clubs.

The home game on Saturday offers the perfect opportunity to give these important topics a platform. Fans can look forward to an exciting duel on the ice – and at the same time send a strong signal for equal rights and empowerment.

Support the EVZ Women’s Team and be there when sport and social change go hand in hand!