Davos also wins the second game of the quarter-final series against Zug. After the 4:3 on Friday, the qualification winners won 2:0 away from home.
22.03.2026, 22:16
23.03.2026, 06:39
SDA
A few seconds after Livio Truog missed another top chance for Zug to make it 1-0, Davos took the lead in the 33rd minute: Simon Knak beat goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni from the turn. On the other side, goalie Sandro Aeschlimann was not to be beaten in the final period either - he celebrated his fourth shutout in the current championship. In the 56th minute, he made a spectacular save against Tomas Tatar.
The visitors should have made it 2-0 in the 51st minute, but Valentin Nussbaumer couldn't get the puck past Genoni in a four-on-one situation. Adam Tambellini made up for the missed opportunity with a shot into the empty net 27.5 seconds before the end.
This was Zug's tenth defeat in a row in the playoffs. They face the same fate as last year, when they lost 4-0 to Davos in the quarter-finals. In 2024, they conceded a sweep in the semi-final against the ZSC Lions.
Before falling behind, EVZ had come very close to making it 1-0 on several occasions. Andreas Wingerli missed the crossbar in the 14th minute and Mike Künzle hit the post in the 26th minute. The latter's goal was open after a counter-attack and a cross-field pass from Gregory Hofmann. Knak's goal gave the visitors a boost, and in the 34th minute Nussbaumer's shot was saved by the post to make it 2-0.
Zug were without their top scorer Dominik Kubalik; Daniel Vozenilek played in his place. Brendon Lemieux was registered as surplus for the Grisons - the US-Canadian had scored the 3:3 in the first game 87 seconds before the end with a deflection. However, that didn't change the fact that Davos also found a way to win this game.
Rapperswil defeats qualifying runners-up Fribourg again
The Rapperswil-Jona Lakers were the last team to make the play-offs via the second round of the play-in, but with their convincing 4-0 win over Bern, their self-confidence has grown almost immeasurably. Fribourg-Gottéron, who gained 19 more points in the qualifiers but have not yet found their way into play-off mode, are now feeling the effects.
Even a superior first period and a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal by defenceman Maximilian Streule (12th minute) failed to calm the nerves of the Fribourg team. So far, Johan Lundskog has clearly won the tactical duel against his much more renowned Swedish compatriot Roger Rönnberg.
The Lakers are compact defensively, close down the spaces in front of their outstanding goalie Melvin Nyffeler and only rarely allow Freiburg to get into a good position to score. In contrast to the opening game in Freiburg, when everything went Rapperswil-Jona's way from the start, they were now able to respond to the deficit at home.
Tyler Moy in overtime and Gian-Marco Wetter after strong forechecking by Malte Strömwall turned the 0:1 into a 2:1 in the middle third. In the final period, Gottéron played for a goal for the most part (shot ratio: 17:4), but lacked consistency and cold-bloodedness in finishing.
Telegrams:
Zug - Davos 0:2 (0:0, 0:1, 0:1)
7450 spectators. - SR Wiegand/Hungerbühler, Cattaneo/Bürgy. - Goals: 33rd Knak (Zadina) 0:1. 60th (59:32) Tambellini 0:2 (into the empty net). - Penalties: 2 times 2 minutes each. - PostFinance top scorers: Hofmann; Stransky.
Zug: Genoni; Bengtsson, Tobias Geisser; Diaz, Sklenicka; Stadler, Riva; Wey, Guerra; Herzog, Kovar, Wingerli; Künzle, Tatar, Hofmann; Lindemann, Senteler, Vozenilek; Truog, Leuenberger, Eggenberger.
Davos: Aeschlimann; Frick, Dahlbeck; Andersson, Jung; Fora, Barandun; Gross; Knak, Asplund, Zadina; Frehner, Ryfors, Tambellini; Stransky, Nussbaumer, Kessler; Waidacher, Aebli, Egli, Parrée.
Remarks: Zug without Martschini (injured) and Lilja (extra foreigner), Davos without Corvi, Gredig, Hollenstein (all injured), Claesson, Lemieux and Taponen (all extra foreigners). Zug without a goalkeeper from 56:57 to 59:32.
Rapperswil-Jona Lakers - Fribourg-Gottéron 2:1 (0:1, 2:0, 0:0)
5771 spectators. - SR Stolc (SVK)/Dipietro, Schlegel/Bachelut. - Goals: 12 Streule (Glauser) 0:1. 24 Moy (Pilut/powerplay goal) 1:1. 35 Wetter (Strömwall, Larsson) 2:1. - Penalties: 5 times 2 minutes against Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, 7 times 2 minutes against Fribourg-Gottéron. - PostFinance top scorers: Moy; Borgström.
Rapperswil-Jona Lakers: Nyffeler; Pilut, Maier; Capaul, Larsson; Jelovac, Dufner; Henauer; Strömwall, Rask, Wetter; Zangger, Taibel, Lammer; Fritz, Moy, Jensen; Hofer, Albrecht, Graf; Diethelm.
Fribourg-Gottéron: Berra; Rathgeb, Kapla; Glauser, Streule; Jecker, Nemeth; Seiler; Rattie, Wallmark, De la Rose; Bertschy, Borgström, Dorthe; Sprunger, Walser, Marchon; Nicolet, Reber, Gerber; Rod.
Remarks: . Fribourg-Gottéron without a goalkeeper from 58:14.
