National League – At the beginning of the semi-final series, the ZSC Lions managed their first playoff victory against Fribourg-Gottéron. The focus is on winning goal scorer Denis Malgin and goalie Ludovic Waeber.
The ZSC Lions and Friborg-Gottéron are at eye level this season. In qualifying, the two clubs shared the victories. The home team prevailed twice, twice only after a penalty shootout.
However, a look at the face books of the playoffs introduced in 1986 shows a completely different picture: in four playoff series against Freiburg, Zurich won in 1993 (0:4), 1994 (0:3), 2009 (0:4) and 2013 ( 1:4) only one game. In the venerable St. Leonard Hall, the “Zett” remained without a win in eight attempts.
After the renovation of the arena, it finally worked out for the Lions on Friday with the victory premiere in the city of Saane. But the defensive guests had to endure the 3:2 hard. Gottéron made more for the game for 60 minutes, ZSC only took over the reins when extra time began, but was also lucky that the Freiburgers didn’t manage the lucky punch through Mauro Jörg.
The Impact of the MHA Storm
In the end it was Denis Malgin who decided the game in favor of the Lions after 81:18 minutes. The former NHL forward defeated Reto Berra early in the second overtime with a perfect direct pass from Maxim Noreau.
The fact that ZSC are where they are at the moment is largely thanks to Malgin and his strike partners Denis Hollenstein and Sven Andrighetto. Since the trio has been acting in an attacking line, coach Rikard Grönborg’s team has been running it. In games 6 and 7 against Biel, the newly formed MHA storm was decisive in the two 3-1 victories with two goals each. Hollenstein also scored the early 1-0 in Freiburg on Friday.
Malgin, Hollenstein and Andrighetto are practically the Swiss answer to the previously feared MSN storm in the ranks of FC Barcelona. The trio with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar scored goals on the running meter and taught the opponents to fear. Now the three exceptional talents from Zurich are showing off on Swiss ice and making ZSC fans dream of their first championship title since 2018.
Waeber convinces as a Kovar replacement
The semi-final series against Fribourg-Gottéron had started with bad news for the Lions. Jakub Kovar, who had made it possible for Zurich to advance with his strong performances in the quarter-final series against Biel, was unable to take part on Friday due to illness. As is usual in the playoffs, the club did not provide any detailed information about the exact reasons why the Czech could not be there.
In his place was Ludovic Waeber in the ZSC goal. The 25-year-old had lost his number 1 status in recent weeks. Since Kovar’s commitment shortly before Christmas, Waeber has only played six starts, but has always left the ice as the winner with one exception (in a 1-3 away win against bottom-of-the-table Ajoie).
Ironically against the junior club
So, a year after his playoff debut with the Lions, Waeber made his playoff debut this year. And this against Gottéron, his junior club, with whom he played his first game in the National League in autumn 2017.
Waeber said in the SRF interview that he only found out on the morning of the match day that he was standing between the posts instead of Kovar. What about the nervousness? “I’ve worked hard to be ready when the chance comes,” he admitted confidently.
Waeber definitely grabbed this opportunity. He parried 36 of 38 shots on his goal and achieved a catch rate of almost 95 percent. Only in the 2-2 equalizer by Samuel Walser did the native of Freiburg not act confidently when he let a shot by Raphael Diaz rebound forward.
Who is in goal on Sunday?
But is this enough to displace a healthy Kovar as well? The fact that not everyone from the foreign quintet of the Lions was completely convincing on Friday certainly does not play into the hands of the young Swiss. Garrett Roe in particular provided few arguments with his bad pass in the offensive zone before Chris DiDomenico equalized 1-1.
The American striker was the source of a goal in the fifth quarter-final at home against Biel (1:3) with a catastrophic pass. After that, head coach Grönborg banished him to the stands for two games. If Kovar is healthy again, Roe threatens to be a spectator again – and probably Waeber too.
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