ZSC shines in holiday mode

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Easter on the beach? For the ZSC Lions a scenario that could happen. Because in the semi-final against Biel, the residents of Zurich play in holiday mode, are harmless and much too good. So it’s no surprise that they haven’t scored for 120 minutes. And this despite the fact that they managed to spend 17 minutes outnumbered.

Significantly, Biel could afford to rest on Saturday the Finnish goalkeeper Harri Säteri, who was excellent in the play-offs, and rely on substitute Joren van Pottelberghe. A daring poker game that really paid off and dealt a psychological blow to the citizens of Zurich, who were goalless for the first time in the Swiss Life Arena.

Lions coach Marc Crawford would not dwell on the goal drought and denied that his team lacked offensive power. Instead, he dissected the goals against, emphasizing: “It’s not finished yet.”

“Maybe we’re a little too tense”

Meanwhile, striker Simon Bodenmann said: “I think we need to find the coolness in front of goal again. Maybe we’re a little too tense. Sometimes you need a distraction or a shot that would otherwise fall in.” The 35-year-old is goalless in seven playoff games after scoring goal after goal earlier this year before the Lions fell back and extended his contract.

Bodenmann is not alone in jamming. Sick Nati striker Sven Andrighetto has barely been able to put himself in the spotlight since his extra-time goal in the fourth game in Davos.

Justin Azevedo wears the yellow helmet of the ZSC playoff leading scorer, although he has only scored one goal (and four assists) and is particularly convincing defensively. The Canadians are also very frustrated. In the last third on Saturday, he smashed his stick on the bench after an opponent took his helmet off with impunity.

Wallmark is goalless in 24 games

There is also not enough of the other foreign strikers. Swede Lucas Wallmark, on a three-year contract, has been goalless in 24 games and has become totally ineffective offensively. The very talented Frenchman Alexandre Texier disappears completely, seems hesitant or loses himself in fruitless individual actions away from the hot zones. And Juho Lammikko, ZSC’s top scorer with 24 goals and the positive surprise of the qualification, hit the bull’s eye for the first time in the play-offs.

However, the Finn missed the first semi-final match in Biel due to illness. Crawford says of Lammikko that he “suffered like a dog”, still lacking a bit of energy. The man with the prominent gap between his teeth is probably the most capable of breaking through Biel’s defenses with a crowbar. However, it also does not fit the profile of a first centre. That’s something the Lions have been missing since the departure of Denis Malgin (now Colorado), who had 9 playoff hits last season.

If the Lions fail to create more goal threat against the cool, well-structured Bieler, Sven Helfenstein will be right. “Then the Lions will soon be at ‘booking.com'”, said the MySports expert on Thursday with a pointed tongue.

Source : Blick