Will Servette also pull off the Champions Hockey League coup?: ZSC heroes remember the ‘perfect game’ from 2009

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

Especially in French-speaking Switzerland, Servette is touted as the first Swiss club to participate in a Champions Hockey League final. On the one hand that is true, but on the other hand it is not.

The ZSC Lions already triumphed in 2009 in the final of a competition of the same name. However, in a different format: the Champions League from that time no longer exists and was canceled the following year due to the financial crisis at the time. It concerns a new trophy, the new Champions League, launched in 2014, which Servette can win on Tuesday evening (7:30 p.m., live on SRF2 and in the Blick ticker) against the Swedish top team Skelleftea.

Current HCD sports director Jan Alston (54), who played for the ZSC Lions at the time, thinks back to the coup 15 years ago. At the time it was a new competition that the team from Zurich managed to win in its only edition. “On the way to our first game in Sweden, the finance director asked me if I believed we could even win a game,” Alston said. “I told him that we would play the first match first and then we’ll see.”

The adventure with Magnitogorsk

Unlike Geneva, the ZSC Lions did not have the Champions Hockey League as their season goal at the time. “You have to say that almost only the winners of the various championships could qualify,” emphasizes Mark Bastl (43), also a ZSC hero at the time, “that was a great adventure. And it was really an adventure.” For the first leg of the final against Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the team from Zurich even had to rent a private plane – “because no one wanted to fly to Magnitogorsk,” de Romand smiles.

Thibaut Monnet (42), also a member of the victorious team from Zurich, adds: “Five hours of flying for a match, we were not used to that in Switzerland at the time.” His memory of Magnitogorsk? “There’s nothing nice in this town – except the ice skating rink.”

At that time, Russian teams from the KHL were still playing in the Champions Hockey League. However, they had no interest in the follow-up format and at this point they would not be a problem for participation anyway due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Moreover, unlike today, the 2009 final was played in a second leg. The ZSC Lions returned to Switzerland from Magnitogorsk with a 2-2 draw after game 1.

Last home game in Rappi

But the decisive second leg did not take place in Zurich, because the Hallenstadion was already reserved for another event: Art on Ice. The ZSC Lions actually had to move to Rapperswil-Jona for one of the biggest games in their club history. “It was a really phenomenal atmosphere because we had the entire ice rink behind us – and the whole of Switzerland,” Monnet remembers. And Bastl says: “They did everything they could to make us feel at home. And unlike the large indoor stadium, the fans in Rapperswil were so close. That created an electric atmosphere.”

And what memories do you have of the competition? Bastl: “It was the perfect match. We scored the first goal and after that there was a huge euphoria and the opponent was probably a bit confused.” In the end, the Zurich team won 5-0. That evening it seemed like no one – not even one of the best teams in Russia – ZSC could beat.

ZSC heroes keep their fingers crossed for Geneva

Now the Zurich heroes of the past are keeping their fingers crossed for their possible successors from Geneva for the Champions League final. «I wish the entire Servette organization much happiness and success. It’s a big deal for Switzerland and I think the Genevans are well equipped to win this match,” Alston said.

Monnet immediately says: “I want Geneva to win, so that it can be proven that Swiss ice hockey is very good – both in terms of training and the way of playing.” Bastl agrees: “I wish Servette all the best, they deserve it and should bring the title to Switzerland so that everyone benefits.” Shortly before hanging up, the Vaudois even lets out an “Allez Genève-Servette”. It’s like 2009 with the ZSC Lions – now all of Switzerland is behind Servette.

Source : Blick