After the opening loss, the Zug women’s team aims to even the playoff final series against SC Bern on Sunday, March 23, at the BOSSARD Arena.
Two goals conceded within 46 seconds were a tough blow for the EVZ Women’s Team in the first final match. The Bern team increased their lead from 1-0 to 3-0 in this short time span at the start of the second period. What was particularly frustrating for the Zug players was that they had just seemingly killed off a penalty when the second goal was scored.
Speaking of penalties: While three Zug players had to serve two-minute penalties, not a single Bern player sat on the penalty bench. This is an area where EVZ Head Coach Daniela Diaz needs to focus, as penalties are often a sign of a lack of concentration. In total, several lapses in focus on the Zug side led to the defeat in the first final match. The result, however, does not reflect the true balance of power on the ice. EVZ shot more often on goal and had several strong phases during the game. However, Bern’s goalie, Saskia Maurer, was unbeatable that afternoon and was rightly named Best Player.
On the Zug side, the choice for Best Player went to Noemi Ryhner. After the game, the forward talked about the important lessons to be learned from this match and the need for recovery. Time is limited, though: On Sunday, the best-of-5 series continues with Game 2 at 2:30 PM in the Zug BOSSARD Arena. Noemi Ryhner and her teammates have already shown several times this season that they can learn from such games and turn setbacks into positive energy.
