DiDomenico’s nerves are the deciding factor at SCB

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The duel between Bern and Kloten is not for the faint hearted or etiquette fetishists, but something for those who like to sit back and grab the popcorn when the emotions boil over. Two players make sure of that: the pain in the ass of Balls Marc Marchon and the explosive SCB top scorer Chris DiDomenico.

It’s 1:1 in this best-of-3 series. Also in the private duel Marchon vs. DiDomenico it is 1:1. In the first game, the striker, who grew up in the EVZ youth team, had to take a shower early on. After an elbow check against “DiDo”. On Thursday it was the Canadian with the short fuse who got 5 penalty minutes because he let himself be carried away by an elbow check on Randegger.

The somewhat hefty penalty against the Canadian, the two Klotener hits it resulted in and the fact that the appointment of the SCB star was completely unnecessary, caused annoyance with the Berner.

“But maybe not quite a hundred in your head”

Even the otherwise down-to-earth coach Toni Söderholm raged and was annoyed after the game about the persistent questions about DiDomenico. On Friday, however, he said about provocations: “It’s nothing special. That’s always the case in the play-offs. We had prepared for that too.”

The Kloteners have been looking for the hothead from the first minute of the series. And find him. Especially Marchon. “He’s one of the biggest nuisances,” said Kloten coach Jeff Tomlinson. “But there’s a fine line between pushing it to the limit — or exceeding it.”

Meanwhile, Marchon has made a name for himself in the competition within a very short time. The 1.79 meter tall and 87 kilo heavy striker teases his opponents to the bone and enjoys the mutual fight for the goal. “Such matches are decided in the head. You don’t have to be 100 kilos for that,” he says with a grin: “But maybe not even a hundred in your head.”

Trash talk on the way to the cabin to the point of hoarseness

The 27-year-old has mastered the entire repertoire of teasing. Not just with small, more or less hidden attacks. Also verbal. On Thursday, on his way to the second break, he had a round of trash talk with DiDo. “I was almost hoarse when I got into the cabin,” he says mischievously the next day, but won’t explain the words. In the MySports interview, he said, “Luckily we provoked DiDo a bit again and scored two goals in those five minutes.”

Is Marchon already rubbing his hands before Saturday’s last game? “It will definitely be a heated game – so a game for me. I need these emotions to get to my top level.” He’s not worried about his reputation, he says, just as team manager Larry Mitchell tells him he received an email from a fan. “So you’re not his favorite player.” There were also some reactions on Instagram, Marchon reports and chuckles.

Marchon & Co. do everything they can to get under DiDomenico’s skin. But the 34-year-old is also a grateful victim. It immediately catches fire. And this leads to missions like the one where he squabbles with five different opponents in 50 seconds.

“He’s always in the spotlight,” says sports director Abdrew Ebbett. Now the nerves of the wayward striker could decide the series. However, one should not forget that DiDomenico has two sides.

Last season, in the last semi-final with his former and future club Friborg, he afforded a groundbreaking residual exclusion after a foul on ZSC-Geering, or this season he shot SCB into first place with two goals in the last round against the Lions pre-playoffs. He is a gifted player and scorer who can almost single-handedly decide a game. Which DiDomenico will we see tonight?

“I think Chris is experienced enough”

“I think Chris is experienced enough,” says teammate Tristan Scherwey. “I’m convinced we can do it together.”

And while Söderholm says you shouldn’t just look at Bern’s penalties and fouls, Tomlinson snaps: “The point of a check is to separate the player from the puck. Not the head from the body.” Tinder has long been overhauled in the series, in which the umpires are sometimes caught off guard.

Source : Blick