SCB coach Tapola explains his goalkeeper bingo: licking wounds at SCB after the play-off

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Last stop in the quarterfinals. In the seventh game, SCB had to admit defeat in Zug.

‘It feels bad. “Especially for the players who gave everything,” says coach Jussi Tapola (49). “But I have to be honest: Zug was generally a little better than us.”

The Finn remains true to himself. He also plays goalkeeper bingo in the seventh game of the series. Although Philip Wüthrich (26) shone with a shutout on Wednesday, Tapola calls on the number 36 of Adam Reideborn (32) in the all-or-nothing game. If he had left the Swede back in the stands, his future in Bern would have been sealed despite his current contract. Even though last year’s KHL champion (with CSKA Moscow) was responsible for the defeat.

But Reideborn cannot be blamed. He was in the position during Zug’s strong pressing phase at the start of the match and was only beaten later by two powerplay goals. His bad luck: At the other end, seven-time champion goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni scored a shutout.

“We had a plan with two goalkeepers”

“Reideborn was the main reason why we made the top 6, went straight to the play-offs and were here,” Tapola explained his decision. It was Reideborn who gave SCB a good start to the season with his strong performances and, after four dark years, a relatively carefree season. In the second half of the season, the veteran relaxed, while Wüthrich took over his place after recovering from an injury.

‘We had a plan with two goalkeepers. Wüthrich played a great match at home. But we wanted to use both goalkeepers to take the next step,” says Tapola, emphasizing: “Reideborn was great.”

Tapola doesn’t think much of the “Never change a winning team” rule. “Who said that? It has never been my principle. We have two good goalkeepers. In the regular season we needed both. You can also change after a win to win the next game. You don’t have to wait until you have lost .”

It is certainly not our goalkeeper’s fault.”

What Tapola would do differently in retrospect is the goalkeeping changes during Games 3 and 5 in Zug, when he took out Reideborn on one occasion and Wüthrich on the other. “The changes had no effect at all.”

The SCB captain is asked whether the goalkeepers have had an influence. “Sure, if someone keeps a clean sheet,” says Simon Moser. “But you also saw how the goals were scored. It is certainly not our goalkeeper’s fault.”

His summary of the season: “You can’t be happy with a season if you get eliminated in the quarter-finals. This is disappointing. But the path that the club is taking, that the coach is setting and that the players are following, is absolutely positive.”

And the next step? Should SCB now aim for a place in the top 4, which will provide home advantage in the quarter-finals? “Yes, from my point of view,” says Moser.

PS ‘Never change a winning team’ is attributed to Alf Ramsey (1920–1999), who led the England national football team to the World Cup title in 1966.

Source : Blick