Starting position of ZSC, Friborg

The Champions Hockey League will begin the knockout phase of the first leg of the Round of 16 on Tuesday night. Among the four Swiss representatives, the focus is on defending champion Geneva-Servette.

The season didn't start as planned for the people of Geneva. In the National League, they are currently outside the playoff ranks. Only one win in the last six championship games. The defending champion also endured a rough patch in the Champions Hockey League, only making progress at the end of six game days.

So the first international break came in handy for Servette. Most of the team's players were available for Jan Kadieu's coaching duties, but none of the Finnish five were called up to the national team. Has the 2023 championship-winning coach managed to turn things around in the past few days?

Has Jan Cadieux found the right words to turn things around?Image: trapezoid

Second Swiss knockout match

Together with Lausanne, Grint will face their opponents from Lake Geneva in the round of 16. For their part, Canton Vaud have made a strong start to the season, finishing second in the National League behind leaders ZSC Lions, and Lausanne also performed well in the derby against Servetus. Both head-to-head matches in this tournament ended with narrow margins (2:1 and 3:2).

Last year's play-off finalists also impressed at the Euros, where they were the only team in Faestad without a defeat after 60 minutes and finished third. , behind Team Sweden and ZSC Lions. Despite being better placed, Lausanne had to give up home advantage in the last 16 second leg due to stadium availability.

In the only Swiss matchup so far in the knockout stages of the Champions Hockey League, the 2016/17 ZSC Lions defeated Lugano with a total score of 6:5.

In 2016, Lugano and ZSC met in the Champions League.Image: KEYSTONE

ZSC favorite, Gottéron faces challenge

So far in this European Championship, Zurich have shown the same confidence as they did in the championship and, like Lausanne and Friborg-Gautron, are confident of advancing to the last 16. This means that, like two years ago, the National League has four representatives entering the knockout stages.

Champions League play-off tree.Bild: Hockey League Champions

ZSC will reunite with the Straubing Tigers. Nearly two months ago, FC Zurich won 3-2 in a showdown with the team currently ranked seventh in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). Defeat for the Swiss champions would come as a surprise. But be careful: the Lower Bayern defeated Swedish champions Skellefteja at home in September.

At the end of the regular season, fifth-placed Friborg-Gottron faced Växjö Lakers. Sweden has had a mixed start to the season, but has often been a stumbling block for Switzerland in the knockout stages of the European Championship in the past. Gautron hopes to start the national team break with a strong momentum. Before the suspension, Freiburg suffered four defeats in five games. (Abu/Sudan Development Authority)

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