In the end, everything happened very quickly. When EV Zug returned from Lulea on Wednesday morning, the club management had already dismissed head coach Michael Liniger (46).
21.01.2026, 12:10
21.01.2026, 12:19
SDA
Even an away win in Lulea and progression in the Champions Hockey League would not have helped Liniger. The decision to try a new head coach had already been made on Tuesday afternoon. And last Friday's home defeat against Ajoie (2:4) justified the need for action. "That was a must-win game - and we lost that too," said Patrick Lengwiler, CEO of EV Zug.
Benoît Groulx (57), a Canadian, will be in central Switzerland on Thursday to take over as head coach.
One size too big
The fact that Liniger had to go certainly came as no surprise after the historic run of ten competitive games lost in a row. Under Liniger, the EVZ never lived up to its own (very high) expectations. There have already been shorter losing streaks in September and October. Zug has not won an away game since October 30. In the standings, the EVZ fell behind the SCL Tigers to 9th place.
"We supported and backed Liniger as much as we could," said Lengwiler in the press release. Ultimately, however, the coach bears responsibility for the team's results and performance. And in the end, the appearance was no longer right for those responsible. With this statement, Lengwiler was referring to the home game a week ago against Lugano (2:3), when the Zug team shot 16 times on goal despite being permanently behind and allowed themselves various indiscipline.
Liniger had already lost the support of the fans. Liniger may be a coaching talent, but EV Zug is too big for him, according to the tenor among the fans. Reto Kläy, Zug's head of sport, also came in for criticism recently.
Turnaround with Groulx?
Only Liniger has to go for now. He concluded his time in Zug with a five-day road trip. Zug traveled to Geneva last Saturday (1:4 defeat), from there flew directly to Sweden, and after the game in Lulea (2:3) returned to Switzerland. During these five days, Liniger's successor was decided in Zug. Liniger became the fifth National League coach to lose his job this season after Jussi Tapola (Bern), Yorick Treille (Servette), Luca Cereda (Ambri-Piotta/resignation of his own free will) and Martin Filander (Biel).
Can the Canadian Benoît Groulx (57) turn the undoubtedly talented team around? The appointment of a Canadian to a team without an overseas player may come as a surprise. Groulx is also not (yet) familiar with the National League. On the other hand, the choice of coaches in the middle of the season is limited. Groulx played in Europe for eleven years as an active player - first in Belgium, then in France. Most recently, he coached Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Russian KHL until November. Groulx reached the playoff final with Chelyabinsk last season.
