- Ambri leads 4-0 at home against Lugano in the first leg of the play-in, but the final score is 4-4.
- Lugano forces its first draw on Swiss ice since 2006.
- Despite taking the lead twice, Geneva-Servette lost 2-3 at home to EHC Biel.
- Biel turned up the heat in the final third and scored the winning goal in the 56th minute thanks to Fabio Hofer.
Ambri-Piotta – Lugano 4:4
In the 26th minute, Inti Pestoni picked up the pace in the neutral zone, ran through the defense like a knife through warm butter and beat Mikko Koskinen with a wrist shot. It was 4-0 for the home team in the first leg of the Ticino play-in derby and the supposed preliminary decision.
Luca Fazzini was able to shorten the score shortly afterwards with a deflection. However, the turning point in this game came in the 42nd minute of the game. Lugano received a penalty after a few seconds in the second third. However, when he was outnumbered, Marco Müller suddenly had space in the opponent’s third and duped Janne Juvonen between the legs.
With this goal, the South Ticino team unsettled Ambri, who from then on waged a defensive battle. For the time being they did this successfully. Late in the third, Lugano struck twice again with Michael Joly and Santeri Alatalo (54th/55th). It remained 4:4. The first draw and thus the first point split on Swiss ice in 18 years was certain.
Legend: Caused celebration on the Lugano bench Santeri Alatalo high-fives the players on the bench after his 4-4 draw. Freshfocus/Michela Locatelli
Furious start from Ambri
The game started late because of confetti on the ice. Ambri was not impressed by this and surprised Luganesi, who were initially overwhelmed. Within 25 seconds, Jakob Lilja and Tim Heed scored in the 9th minute for a quick 2-0 lead, just 4 turns of the pointer later Johnny Kneubühler was there on a rebound and increased the score to 3-0.
In the second leg in Lugano on Saturday everything is now open: a possible winner after 60 minutes qualifies directly for the playoffs; in the event of a draw, it goes into extra time.
Geneva – Biel 2:3
The champions are under pressure after the first leg in the play-in. Geneva were unable to take advantage of their home advantage in Les Vernets. Fabio Hofer gave Biel a lucky break in an even game in the 56th minute: He used a rebound from Servette goalie Gauthier Descloux after a shot from teammate Viktor Lööv.
Legend: The decision in the master recapitulation Fabio Hofer (right) scores for Biel 3-2 in the play-in first leg. Freshfocus/Laurent Daspres
Geneva had previously led twice: Theodor Lennström made it 1-0 in the first third. After just 17 seconds in the middle period, Gaëtan Haas managed to equalize, but Marco Miranda immediately restored the old distance (23′). With a penalty against Valtteri Filppula, Beat Forster, who will end his career after this season, equalized again to make it 2-2. Ramon Tanner won the face-off, Forster was successful with his shot from the blue line.
A draw in the second leg on Saturday in front of their own crowd is enough for the Zealanders to reach the next round. It’s the next blow for Geneva after it finished qualifying in 10th place with four consecutive defeats.