HC Fribourg-Gottéron secures the last direct playoff spot in the National League. The SCL Tigers, Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and Ambri-Piotta can continue to hope via the play-in.
01.03.2025, 22:33
01.03.2025, 23:20
SDA
For EHC Biel and Genève-Servette Hockey Club, however, the season is over.
Although the eagerly awaited 52nd and final round of qualifying did not result in a major upheaval in the standings, the decision in the play-off battle was nonetheless unrivaled in terms of drama.
Lights out at 21.48
At 9.48 pm, Genève-Servette still had hopes of advancing to the top 10, despite being hopelessly behind in Bern (1:5). But then the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers scored the winning goal in the final minute of their crucial home game against Davos to move up from 12th to 9th place. Geneva, on the other hand, have to come to terms with the premature end of the season.
Biel also missed out on the play-in, facing Lugano in the final round, a team that had already been confirmed as a relegation play-off contender. The Seelanders lost 2:4 in Ticino and slipped out of the top 10.
The SCL Tigers can continue to dream of making the play-offs, as they did their duty in style with a 5:1 home win against bottom team Ajoie, thus moving up from 9th to 8th place. This gives the Langnau team two chances in the play-in to qualify for the quarter-finals.
In the first round, they will face Kloten on Tuesday and Thursday in a first and second leg, who ended their qualification campaign with a 2:4 derby defeat at the ZSC Lions and will therefore have to play an extra round. The loser will then face the winner of the duel between the Lakers and Ambri-Piotta in the second round. Despite a 4-1 defeat in Fribourg, the Leventines remained in the top 10 with a two-point lead over the Biel/Servette duo.
Fribourg-Gottéron defended 6th place thanks to their home win against Ambri, thus securing direct qualification for the play-off quarter-finals. There, the Fribourg team will face their great rivals SC Bern in the Zähringen derby on March 13. The second play-off pairing, which has already been decided, is Zug (4th) against Davos (5th). Zug secured home ice thanks to a 4:1 home win against leaders Lausanne. Lausanne and champions ZSC Lions do not yet know their quarter-final opponents.
SCB, with the league's top scorer Austin Czarnik, not only secured home ice for the first playoff round in third place, but also a place in the European Cup. Together with defending champions ZSC Lions and qualifying winners Lausanne, the Bernese will represent Switzerland in the Champions Hockey League next season. The fourth Swiss starting place will go to either the champions or EV Zug (4th), should one of the already confirmed participants win the play-off final.
Results:
Bern - Genève-Servette 5:1 (1:0, 3:0, 1:1). Fribourg-Gottéron - Ambri-Piotta 4:1 (0:0, 1:1, 3:0). Rapperswil-Jona Lakers - Davos 2:1 (1:1, 0:0, 1:0). Lugano - Biel 4:2 (2:0, 0:1, 2:1). SCL Tigers - Ajoie 5:1 (0:0, 4:0, 1:1). ZSC Lions - Kloten 4:2 (2:0, 1:2, 1:0). Zug - Lausanne 4:1 (1:0, 1:1, 2:0).
