Three games, three wins - the national ice hockey team has made a perfect start to its gold medal mission at the home World Championships. Expert Reto Suri takes stock in an interview with blue Sport.
When the entire Swiss Life Arena sings "W. Nuss vo Bümpliz" by Patent Ochsner on Monday evening after the gala performance against Germany, the players go on their well-earned lap of honor with astonished faces. They realize: The euphoria in ice hockey Switzerland has definitely been ignited after the third win in the third game.
"This atmosphere in the hall was the question mark before the tournament: is it too much or are the expectations too high? With these three games, we've managed to lay the foundations to ride this wave," says expert and 2013 silver hero Reto Suri. This support could tip the scales in the end.
In the games against the USA, Latvia and Germany, the Swiss had to endure the odd test of patience in order to be victorious in the end. Against the Latvians and the Germans in particular, it took many chances before the first goal was scored.
Suri: "It's pure entertainment"
"It's a sign of self-confidence. The belief in your own strengths. There are moments like that at this level. The games are extremely close, all teams can play ice hockey," says Suri. The team knows when it has to strike in order to win such games.
When the spell was broken against Germany, the team showed how much self-confidence it had and began to act in a very playful manner. For the 37-year-old, this ease poses no danger for upcoming games: "This playfulness came when the match was more or less decided. We played ourselves into a frenzy with the euphoria of the home World Cup and the atmosphere in the stadium. (...) It's pure entertainment and cool to watch."
The performances of the line of Pius Suter, Sven Andrighetto and Denis Malgin have been outstanding so far. "They're making a big contribution, it's the quality that each individual brings. (...) We know Malgin and Andrighetto from the championship. Pius Suter is earning his spurs in the NHL."
For Suri, the St. Louis Blues forward stands out in particular. He wins a lot of duels, fights for every shot and still has the playmaking quality to play alongside the congenial duo of Malgin/Andrighetto. "This line has everything you could wish for as a coach. (...) Hats off to all three of them."
Despite all the euphoria and entertainment, Switzerland must continue to get the basics right. National team coach Jan Cadieux will also ensure this. So far, the 46-year-old has not let the early takeover of the coaching position upset him and has not shaken up the structures and mentality within the team too much.
How important is winning the group?
"There was certainly limited time to make major adjustments," says Suri and continues: "At this point, a huge compliment for the way he is dealing with the situation internally. Because that's something that also bears the hallmark of the coach externally. I don't think you can give him enough credit for how he dealt with it, how he set the team up and how they performed."
A look at the next three opponents (Austria, Great Britain and Hungary) suggests that Switzerland will play Finland in the final group game for the group win. But how important is this?
"If you're looking at the other group, winning the group is important so that you don't meet Canada, Sweden or the Czech Republic. (...) You can hope for a smaller opponent in the quarter-finals. Ultimately, Switzerland doesn't have to hide from anyone," says the 37-year-old and clarifies: "This tournament starts all over again in the knockout phase."
Before that happens, Switzerland must still fulfill their obligations against the supposedly weakest opponents in Group A - starting with Austria on Wednesday at 16:20.
