The most entertaining team in Europe's best hockey league

This turbulent game against the German Hockey League (DEL) runners-up was no coincidence. In terms of style, Eisbären is a typical DEL team: with a strong North American style, the players have excellent personal abilities, and are rough, fast and confident in duels. But tactically, it's hand-knitted: With a National League-like defensive organization, even teams in the bottom half of the standings like Embry, Langnau or the Lakers will finish 3-3 0 Lead Over time, both the first and second legs are wiped with a dry towel.

Polar bear in spengler cup pattern

But with an unparalleled tactical naivety that a lot of confidence, speed and talent couldn't compensate for (speed without organization is like a Formula 1 car without slick tires), Eisbären was the perfect opponent for the ZSC Lions. The hockey they play is somewhat similar to open man coverage in handball or carefree Spengler Cup hockey. Or to put it positively: the forwards are not hampering the defenders when defending.

The Champions League is unable to mobilize the enthusiasm of the audience, at least until the quarter-finals. The Zurich Hockey Temple has 6,684 fans but is only half full. Season tickets are not valid. Everyone who comes has to take out their wallet. And you really do get good value for your money. The atmosphere is great: the upper floors remain empty, fans are concentrated in the lower half of the seats: thanks to the best sound system in Europe, the noise and atmosphere is almost that of the entire stadium. Hockey Zuri rocks.

More fun and confident than ever

The ZSC Lions have long been plagued by Berlin's unconventional, offensive style of play, which is often frantic compared to the league. They lost too many faceoffs and it was only from the mid-game onwards that they found the precision and speed to unleash their talents. The perfect starting point for drama: The deficit sometimes reaches horrific proportions. But it was clear to everyone in the stadium: the question was not if the ZSC Lions would win, but when.

Derek Grant delighted the ZSC Arena fans with a 5-4 victory.Image: trapezoid

Zurich used their skill and speed to exploit free space in the neutral zone and in the opposition zone. They enjoy a playful freedom that even Ajoy does not allow his rivals. After all, Ajoy tied with 0:4 in the final third of the game in Zurich this season and only lost 4:5 in overtime. This does not mean that Ajoy is on an equal footing with the Berliners. This is just a statistical curiosity.

Will, joy of play, passion

Tuesday's game against Eisbären revealed the special qualities of the National League table leaders: ZSC Lions are playing with more fun and confidence than at any time in their history. They won't get into trouble because of arrogance or lack of enthusiasm, as they did in the past. It's more like what defender Christian Marty said after the game: “With so many games in a season, you can't be at your best every night.”

In such an unpredictable game, perfection is nearly impossible. But Zurich's performance culture is so good that the inevitable mistakes are compensated for by will, enthusiasm, passion and self-confidence, as well as the composure that only a true top team can have. Do the ZSC Lions have a good balance between talent, fun of the game and professional seriousness? Probably not.

Now against Servetus

To be able to turn the game around twice after losing 3-0 to a top German team is remarkable by any means. Christian Marti concluded: “It's good for confidence. But we can't expect something like this to happen again…”

Baltisberger checks Servetus goalkeeper Ranta.Image: trapezoid

Defending European champion Servetus awaits in the semi-finals. Two 0-3 losses to Geneva will not be made up for. Regardless, the game won't be as crazy as it was against Eisbarren: Servette is playing better structural hockey.

It used to be an ice hockey game, and the German team won in the end. Now, every time Switzerland beats Germany, it's a hockey match: in the World Cup quarter-finals and now twice in the Champions League quarter-finals. The ZSC Lions eliminated Eisbalen, while Servet had no problems against Bremerhaven, who are currently third in the DEL standings (4-0 in the first leg, 2-2 in the second leg) ).

National League clubs dominate

Two Swiss teams met in the round of 16 (Servette eliminated Lausanne). Now there will be another Helvetic showdown in the semi-finals, a team from the Nations League heading into the European finals.

In the Spengler Cup, the defending champion and favorite is HC Davos. Nations League clubs dominate European club competitions on land, sea and air. No coincidence: since the Russian KHL is no longer a competitor, our clubs often fill foreign positions with the best players from outside the NHL. The best Swiss are also capable of participating in Europe's top competitions, after all, Switzerland is a member of the World Cup finals.

The balance between free play and tactical template hockey is unmatched in any other European league as in our Nations League. This is the best league in Europe in December 2024.

• 7

  A leader who can decide games and make his team better on and off the ice.

• 6-7

  A talented player who can decide a game on a good night and is a leader.

• 5-6

  A good NL player: usually a rainbow butterfly of talent, sometimes a serious worker who brings out a lot of talent.

• 4-5

  Players on the third or fourth block, veterans or newcomers.

• 3-4

  The future is still ahead of you, or the future is already behind you.

• The rating is based on the North American Hockey Grading Scale, ranging from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). There are no levels below level 3, because those who play in the top leagues are at least barely adequate.