“In Lugano, the fans behave like circus animals”

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While the game was grim but fair, one scene overwhelms the mood.

In the 34th minute, Servette-Brocken promoted Teemu Hartikainen Lugano’s lightweight Marco Zanetti to the rink. A scene that could have earned the Finn a penalty. However, the referees see it differently. So Samuel Guerra and Calvin Thürkauf decide to take the law into their own hands. One, two, three, ten cross-checks later, the game controllers finally awarded a penalty to Thürkauf when he also hit Linus Omark. Hartikainen doesn’t wink and is allowed to stay on the ice.

‘Maybe we should come up with bigger helmets’

A scene that evokes the anger of the fans. Boiling with rage, the Tifosi throw numerous objects onto the ice. This leads to a longer interruption of play. Napkin striker Tanner Richard is annoyed after the game: “Apparently it is socially accepted that you can throw champagne glasses on the ice. Maybe next time we should come up with bigger helmets. I don’t understand why that is tolerated.”

During the breaks, the 29-year-old stumbles upon spectators sitting behind the Grenat bench. “It would be nice if we could play our game,” he rages. “The fact that these people pay for a ticket does not give them the right to behave like circus animals. I think they should show a little more class and respect.”

No excuse for bankruptcy

Although he is very angry about the unacceptable behavior, he does not want to use this as an excuse for the defeat. “In circumstances like this we really have to concentrate on what is in our power, which is to score goals. We couldn’t do that this time, so we had no chance of winning.”

The center does the Lugano fans no harm, but respects the opponent: “They played damn well. I think we weren’t bad at all. It was actually a good defensive performance from us. We only allowed a few chances to score. Our shorthanded game was good, unlike the power play. You can’t be perfect every night. But after half an hour we were well into the game until that little mistake that led to the opening goal.”

After this hot evening south of the Alps, the score is 1:1 in this series. “But no one expected it to be 4-0, right?” says Richard. “I have been watching Swiss ice hockey for 30 years and have never seen such a balanced competition as this year. There are eight excellent teams left and other good teams have disappeared. This shows that no game will be easy. But despite the defeat, there are some really good things we can take home from this trip to Ticino.”

Source : Blick