- The ZSC Lions again went 0-3 in the Champions Hockey League against Berlin Eisbären and moved into the semi-finals.
- After the 4-0 home win in the first leg, the defending champions Geneva progressed to the next round without any major problems.
- This means the Swiss duel in the semi-finals in January.
In the first quarter-final two weeks ago, the ZSC Lions were 3-0 behind at Eisbären Berlin after 24 minutes – and still won the match 4-3. In the second game in Zurich-Altstetten it was already 3-0 for the Germans at the first half break – and once again the Swiss champions managed a significant reaction.
Jesper Fröden after 28 seconds in the middle third and Justin Sigrist (39th) after a nice assist from CHL main scorer Sven Andrighetto made 2:3 and equalized the total score to 6:6. But the polar bears hit back again and were virtual semi-finals again after the 4:2 (43rd minute).
But then the big ZSC show really started: First, Juho Lammikko leveled the total score to 7:7 with a precise shot 22 seconds after the Berlin goal. And when Andrighetto leveled the second leg with a great solo (50./4:4), the Lions were suddenly one step ahead.
Crawford is not on the gang
In the end, it was Derek Grant who, after a beautiful ZSC combination, settled this great quarter-final duel with 5:4 and achieved 9:7 in the total score. The head coach of the Lions, Marc Crawford was not able to watch this highlight game for a while. Canadian was missing from the gang for family reasons.
This makes the Swiss semi-final duel between the defending CHL champions Geneva-Servette and the Swiss champions ZSC Lions perfect. Servette had hardly any problems in his quarter-final match with the Bremerhaven Pinguins after the 4-0 home win in the first leg.
Geneva with its first “Empty Net” after 42 minutes
When the score was still 0-0 after 42 minutes, the Germans put everything on one card and replaced the goalkeeper with a 6th fielder 18 (!) minutes before the end. Alessio Bertaggia took advantage of this 26 seconds later with “Empty Filler”.
However, Bremerhaven turned the game around until the 46th minute and then continued to play without a goal. The penguins only played with “Filled Holes” Sakari Manninen to make it 2-2 in the 54th minute and they played to the end with their goalkeeper from then on.
The semi-final dates are the 14th/15th. respectively 21/22. January 2025. In the other match, the Swedes from Färjestad and the Czechs from Sparta Prague face each other.