Rapperswil coach Johan Lundskog was the assistant to Fribourg's head coach Roger Rönnberg for three years. So far, he has the advantage in the quarter-finals.
26.03.2026, 05:00
26.03.2026, 10:04
SDA
Although Fribourg celebrated their first win in the series against the Lakers on Tuesday with a 4-0 victory, they still have the home advantage on their side. Failure would be a bitter blow for Gottéron, who have scored more points (102) than ever before in qualifying. Roger Rönnberg was hired as a kind of messiah - with the clear goal of winning the first championship title in the club's history. With Frölunda, he triumphed four times in the Champions Hockey League and became champion twice.
Regular exchange
For Johan Lundskog, Rönnberg is the best coach in Europe - he was at his side as an assistant during three title wins. The two still have a great relationship and regularly exchange ideas and experiences. "I can ask him for advice, and he can come to me if he needs advice," says Lundskog in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. "You need a good network of competent people around you. Because - quite honestly - if you think you already know everything, then you have a problem, don't you?"
What particularly impresses Lundskog about Rönnberg is "how consistent he is and how persistent in his leadership work. I think he's one of the best I've ever seen when it comes to setting a goal for a group and getting everyone moving in the same direction."
In this respect, Lundskog has obviously learned a lot from Rönnberg - as evidenced by the Lakers' performances. The Swedish-Canadian dual national has been the head coach of Rapperswil since mid-December 2024, having previously been one of the assistants to the sacked Stefan Hedlund. When he had to leave, the Lakers were second last. Lundskog led the team to 9th place before the first play-in round against Ambri-Piotta (overall score 4:5) meant the end of the line.
Targeted changes in the summer
However, only minor adjustments were possible during the season. Targeted changes were then made in the summer to bring out the team's strengths even better. "We are a fast team, have a great work ethic and are strong in forechecking. And we wanted to build our game on that," says Lundskog.
The start to the championship was excellent with 13 wins in the first 16 games. Then things went downhill due to a number of injuries, with only eight wins from the next 29 games. The lead over eleventh-placed Biel was just six points on January 29. Since then, however, things have picked up again, a testament to the work of the coach and his staff.
And this is where Rönnberg comes into play again, as Lundskog answers the question of what makes them so successful: "That we play the way we agreed. The boys are 100 percent behind it. Nobody here is bigger than the team, and everyone has internalized this attitude. There's no secret behind our success - it's hard work from everyone."
Like 2006 and 2021?
On Thursday, the Lakers will be aiming for their third win in this best-of-7 series at home and thus the next step towards their third semi-final qualification in the top division after 2006 and 2021. The 0:4 on Tuesday is said to have been just a minor setback. They have had the attitude all season of taking it one game at a time - after the great start as well as during the difficult phase, said Lundskog. "If we don't work harder than our opponents and don't play disciplined in our system, we have no chance. And we know that. We've learned it the hard way."
The fact that he is coaching against his former teacher in the quarter-finals "perhaps adds a little more spice to the whole thing. But it's not as important as it's made out to be," says the 41-year-old. However, given their history, if the Lakers were to advance, it would be a special chapter in Rapperswil's history - and Lundskog would become a sorcerer's apprentice, so to speak.
