Sweet silver and very bitter leather

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Switzerland has not won a World Junior World Cup medal since 2001. In 2001, the U18 provided the last joke to date. World Cup silver! With victories over Ukraine and Slovakia, Charly Oppliger’s team qualified for the quarter-finals and lit fireworks: 7:1 against Germany. In the semifinals, the Swiss hosts Finland shocked when, thanks to goals from Stefan Schnyder, Severin Blindenbacher and Cyrill Bühler (2), they converted a 0:2 into a 4:2 within nine minutes and then closed shop. Only the Russians with Ilya Kovalchuk stop the Swiss in the final (2:6).

Tobias Stephan, who was named to the all-star team, shines in goal. In defense are Blindenbacher, Beat Forster and Tim Ramholt. And later greats such as Patrik Bärtschi, who scored five goals, Andres Ambühl, Romano Lemm and Raffaele Sannitz also whirl in the storm.

At the World Cup at home in Zug, everything hangs by a thread for the Swiss. In the decisive group game against Latvia, Denis Malgin saved Manuele Celio’s team in extra time with a power play hammer to make it 3:2. Instead of the relegation round, they are quarter-finals. There, the young Swiss passed Russia 5-0.

The U18 euphoria breaks out in Zug. From now on it’s packed in the Bossard Arena. In the semi-finals, the Swiss put up a heroic fight against the favored Finns, overcoming a 4-2 deficit in the last two minutes thanks to goals from 16-year-old Nico Hischier and Damien Riat. In the 7th minute of extra time, Finland put in the knockout punch. Scorer? The current Langnau striker Aleksi Saarela. In the bronze medal game against Canada (2:5) they lack the strength to reward themselves with a medal.

Many of the team that caused euphoria in Zug found their way: in addition to Hischier, Jonas Siegenthaler and Malgin, who made the All-Star team, also play in the NHL. Damien Riat, Calvin Thürkauf, Marco Miranda, Joren van Pottelberghe and the early injured Roger Karrer made it to the national team.

The US and Canada are not yet at the first official U18 World Cup and there are no knockout matches yet. The medals are awarded in a final round in Füssen (D). Switzerland surprised with clear victories against Finland (6:1) and Russia (4:1).

Standouts: current Ambri coach Luca Cereda, who will record 10 points and be drafted by Toronto in the first round next summer, and defenseman David Jobin, who will be named to the All-Star team.

But it’s not enough for a medal. The Swiss follow the last match between Finland and Sweden with fascination: if Finland had won, Alfred Bohren’s team would have won bronze, and if Sweden had won even silver. Alone: ​​the game ends 2:2. Finland becomes world champion with seven points, while Switzerland is behind in the battle for the medals against Sweden and Slovakia (each six points) due to defeats in the head-to-head matches. Bitter.

At the World Cup at home in Kloten ZH and Weinfelden TG, the Swiss defeated Slovakia 3-0 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, Beat Lautenschlager’s team then lost 4-1 to Russia and had no chance in the bronze medal game against Sweden (7-1).

The current MySports expert and agent Sven Helfenstein, who forms a dream storm with Thibaut Monnet and Duri Camichel (†2015) and already shone at the U20 World Cup, ends the tournament with eleven points as co-leader of the scorers list and will be replaced by the drafted New York Rangers. But with the really big career and the NHL, it’s not going to work.

The Swiss put an exclamation mark in Finland. In the first group game they beat the eventual champion USA. The difference is made by current NHL players. Not the Americans like Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel or Dylan Larkin, but the Swiss: Kevin Fiala equalized at the start of the last third to make it 2-2. And Denis Malgin completes the surprise in the last four minutes with a brace.

However, the strong team of Manuele Celio is not good enough for a medal. Canada is the last stop in the quarterfinals. Fiala, who plays with the national team at the World Cup a month later as a 17-year-old, equalizes on a power play in the 56th minute. But 30 seconds before extra time, Trevor Konecny ​​defeated Swiss goalkeeper Gautier Descloux to make it 3:2.

Source : Blick