- The Swiss national team loses at the start of this year’s Euro Hockey Tour against Finland 2:3 nV
- The national team led 2-0 until the 46th minute, then the hosts stepped up their game and turned the game around.
- The Swiss goals were scored by debutant Giancarlo Chanton and Fabrice Herzog.
Robin Salo scored the winning goal for Finland in extra time after a rebound from Swiss keeper Stéphane Charlin. In the entire 71 seconds of overtime, the Swiss didn’t get the puck once.
Nati coach Patrick Fischer’s protégés lost a game in which they had been level for long stretches and had taken a 2-0 lead in the second third (with a bit of luck):
- 28. Minute: Debutant Giancarlo Chanton looks for an advance on the left Michael Fora. Rasmus Rissanen deflects his cross into his own goal with his skate.
- 38. Minute: After a shot by Fabrice Herzog, the puck bounces off the plexiglass behind the goal. The Finns, including goalkeeper Harri Säteri, lose track. The disc jumps in front of Herzog’s stick – 2-0.
Chanton with a strong debut
Chanton was credited with an assist. Two scorer points for a defender on his Nati debut – that’s impressive. The 21-year-old, who works for Geneva-Servette, admitted that he was “a little surprised” when the puck rolled into the goal to make it 1-0.
However, the Swiss were unable to maintain their lead. Mikko Lehtonen (46th) from the ZSC Lions and Harri Pesonen (55th) each overcame Charlin from close range. Pesonen scored against his club colleague at the SCL Tigers. With both goals conceded, the Swiss defense gave the opponent too much space.
Voices about the game
Positive points: Boxplay and Charlin
Despite the late defeat: The national team showed an appealing performance. After a slow start, they were able to keep the game balanced, soon had scoring opportunities (for example through Théo Rochette and Mike Künzle) and were able to neutralize the Finns even when they were outnumbered.
Charlin put in a good performance in goal, with a particularly memorable save against Mikael Ruohomaa. The Finns had no less than 9 players from the National League in action. In terms of physicality, however, neither team pushed their limits.
This is how it continues
In the other EHT game on Thursday, the Czech Republic won against Sweden 5-2. The national team continues on Saturday against Sweden (12:20 p.m. live on SRF two). Last season, Fischer’s team lost 11 of 12 games on tour.
Nati still has a coat of arms
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Legend: SRF
The Swiss men’s national team is in its first game after the decision of the Federal Administrative Court in October, they wore the Swiss coat of arms on their dress. The court had banned the association from using the protected coat of arms. However, the decision is not yet legally binding.
