Fribourg-Gottéron defeats the Geneva leader at Les Vernets
The Fribourgeois won 3-5 in Geneva on Sunday after a lively Romandie derby. Swede Victor Rask (four points) and goalkeeper Reto Berra made the difference for the Dragons. Geneva lost Noah Rod and Roger Karrer to injury.
Fribourgeois Mauro Dufner (left) in a duel for the puck with Genevan Vincent Praplan. Sunday evening’s meeting at Les Vernets turned out in favor of the visitors.
BASTIEN GALLAY/GALLAYPHOTO
Genève-Servette got stuck in the starting blocks, Sunday at Vernets, in the Romand derby against Fribourg-Gottéron. The Friborg Dragons were already leading 0-2 after barely six minutes of play. Sandro Schmid opened the scoring (4e), then Julien Sprunger (14e success of the exercise) doubled the bet (7e, 0-2). Christian Dubé’s team, already convincing on Friday despite losing on penalties against Zurich (1-2) and with Reto Berra in goal for a third game in a row since returning from injury, proved that they skate in the right direction at the end of the regular season.
The Eagles recovered and reduced the gap thanks to a goal from Vincent Praplan (14e, 1-2), but the Freibourgese took off before the first break. The Swede Victor Rask, decisive passer on the first two Friborg goals, was definitely everywhere: the former NHL striker scored 1-3 by bypassing the cage after a service from his captain Julien Sprunger (17e, 1-3). The second period, dominated by the Genevans, however, did not allow the Eagles to pick up the score, despite two big sequences of numerical superiority.
Miranda puts Freiburg under pressure in the 3e period
Marco Miranda, marked by Tanner Richard, put Freiburg under pressure in the third period by scoring 2-3 (47e). A penalty for overcrowding, however, cost the Genevans dearly. Victor Rask, already involved in the first three successes, offered himself a double in powerplay by converting a rebound granted by goalkeeper Robert Mayer (50e, 2-4). But Henrik Tömmernes once again restarted the game by deceiving Reto Berra between the leggings (52e3-4).
Genève-Servette thought to hold the equalizer in the 58the minute, when Teemu Hartikainen deflected the puck into the net. But the referees, who whistled too quickly and interrupted the game probably wrongly, invalidated the achievement. Under high pressure, the Dragons resisted until Jacob De la Rose scored the goal from safety in the empty cage (60e3-5).
Geneva lost Noah Rod and Roger Karrer to injury
Genève-Servette, which lost Noah Rod and Roger Karrer during the match on Sunday, enters the international break with its unshakable status as leader of the championship (first continuously since September) while Fribourg-Gottéron (6esynonymous with direct qualification for the play-offs) is eight points ahead of CP Bern (7e). Gottéron resumes competition on February 14 at home against Kloten. The Genevans will travel to Davos on the same date.
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