The two teams from western Switzerland go to the limit. In an emotionally charged seventh duel between Lausanne and Fribourg-Gottéron, a place in the play-off final is at stake.
12.04.2025, 04:00
12.04.2025, 07:37
SDA
Lausanne Hockey Club and HC Fribourg-Gottéron have a lot in common. Both are hungry for the first championship title in the club's history, both are playing their 14th playoff game in 31 and 30 days respectively at the Vaudoise Aréna on Saturday evening and are suffering from a correspondingly large number of injured players - and the two teams from western Switzerland and their fans don't like each other at all.
There is a lot to be said in favor of the qualification winners ahead of this "Belle", who therefore enjoy home court. Although Lausanne have not been as convincing in these playoffs as they were when they reached the final a year ago or in the regular season, they have distinguished themselves so far by always remaining calm and being ready in the decisive moments.
Fribourg's missed match pucks
Under maximum pressure, they impressively dominated the SCL Tigers in quarter-final game 7 (6:2), and have already turned away two match pucks against Fribourg (2:1 at home, 4:1 away) - both times after trailing 0:1.
Gottéron will need a minor miracle to reach the final for the first time since 2013 - and for the fifth time in total. Just like in Game 7 two and a half weeks ago in Bern. "Who would have thought back then that the game would turn out like this (4:1 for Fribourg)," recalls coach Lars Leuenberger. Back then, his team had also been unable to take advantage of a 3:1 lead in the series and then prevailed after all. Christoph Bertschy also remembers this. "We were very solid defensively in Bern and created chances offensively and took advantage of them," emphasizes the Freiburg veteran.
ZSC players on the sofa
Lausanne also knows only too well that the two hard-fought victories will be useless if they lose on Saturday. "You can throw everything that's gone before out the window," Lausanne's head coach Geoff Ward is convinced. The Canadian definitely doesn't want to know about (too) much pressure. "It will be a man-to-man battle against a tough opponent. It's going to be fun."
An offensive spectacle is not to be expected. Both teams will act cautiously, details will decide who makes the decisive mistake less, wins. The ZSC Lions players can sit back and relax on the sofa on Saturday evening. Most of them are more likely to be rooting for Fribourg, who could start the final at home. Last year against Lausanne, this was the decisive factor in winning the championship.
