The game at the OYM on Easter Monday was only decided after 85 goalless minutes and a heart-stopping shootout: Thanks to the penalties scored by Louis Robin, Robin Antenen and Arno Nussbaumer and three of five attempts saved by Ticino goalie Christian Kirsch, Zug came off the ice as winners and thus qualified for the Finalissima in the all-important 5th game.
In a thrilling 5th semi-final game against HC Ambrì-Piotta, Zug won in the shootout.
Next weekend, they will face EHC Biel-Bienne Spirit, who finished the regular season in fourth place and first beat Genève Futur Hockey by three goals to two in the quarter-finals and then beat the Fribourg-Gottéron Young Dragons by a clear three-nil margin in the semi-finals. The finalissima will be played in two games in Fleurier, Neuchâtel. The first game will take place on Saturday, April 6 at 5 p.m., while the EVZ will play the second game the following day at home at 4:15 p.m. Of the four season duels so far, two have gone to Zug and two to Biel (3:5, 3:2 OT, 5:3, 3:4 from EVZ’s point of view).
The final match is played in the same format as the play-ins: The first game ends after 60 minutes, regardless of whether there is a draw. In this case, both teams would receive 1 point each, otherwise 3 points for the winner and 0 for the loser. In the second game, there is only one overtime if the score is equal between the two teams after a total of 120 minutes of play. The first overtime lasts 20 minutes and is played with 5 against 5, the second overtime is only played with 3 against 3 field players and lasts a maximum of 5 minutes, followed by a penalty shoot-out. The team that wins more points over the two games is crowned Swiss champion.
The games will be broadcast on RED+.
U17 PLAY FOR BRONZE
The U17-Elit will also face EHC Biel, albeit on Wednesday, April 3 in the bronze medal game. The Seelanders finished the regular season in second place (78 points), while Sven Lindemann’s team finished the qualifiers in fifth place (65). In the head-to-head meetings, EVZ has the edge over Biel (4:3 OT, 0:4 and 5:3).
The game will take place at the TISSOT Arena from 17:30 and will also be broadcast on RED+.
