The race for the qualification win in the National League remains open. With a 4:3 win on penalties in the top game, the ZSC Lions did not let leader Lausanne get away.
15.02.2025, 22:44
15.02.2025, 23:13
SDA
Two weeks before the end of qualifying, a preliminary decision could have been made in the duel between last year's playoff finalists. With a home win after 60 minutes, Lausanne would have extended their lead over champions ZSC Lions to ten points with four rounds to go and taken a big step towards the first qualifying win in the club's history. But it didn't come to that.
The Lions kept the tension at the top of the table thanks to a 4:3 win after overtime. The Zurich side are now six points behind the Vaud team and have played one game less.
The battle for 6th place, which entitles the team to qualify directly for the play-off quarter-finals, also remains tight. While Fribourg-Gottéron lost 2:3 at home to Lugano, their direct pursuers Kloten (4:3 n.V. in Bern) and SCL Tigers (4:5 n.V. in Geneva) were able to score points. Bern and Zug and Davos, who have no games on Saturday, are unlikely to be ousted from the top 6.
The situation is even more dramatic at the bottom of the playoff standings, where Biel, the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and Ambri-Piotta in 9th to 11th place all have 64 points. While the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers won 3:1 at home against Biel, Ambri-Piotta beat bottom-placed Ajoie 5:4 on penalties.
Results and table:
National League. Saturday's games: Ambri-Piotta - Ajoie 5:4 (1:1, 2:2, 1:1, 0:0) n.P. Bern - Kloten 3:4 (0:2, 2:1, 1:0, 0:1) n.V. Fribourg-Gottéron - Lugano 2:3 (1:2, 1:1, 0:0). Genève-Servette - SCL Tigers 5:4 (1:1, 1:3, 2:0, 1:0) n.V. Rapperswil-Jona Lakers - Biel 3:1 (1:0, 1:0, 1:1). Lausanne - ZSC Lions 3:4 (0:1, 2:2, 1:0, 0:0) n.P.
