Posted
The Zurichers do not miss an opportunity to manhandle Chris DiDomenico, the best player of the Dragons.
All the means are good to try to slow down Chris DiDomenico, the key player of FR Gottéron.
Pascal Muller/freshfocus
Chris DiDomenico, who has been running at two points per game since the start of the play-offs (14 points in 7 games), was roughed up and manhandled as rarely during Act II won by the ZSC Lions on Sunday at the Hallenstadion. Are the Zurich residents openly targeting the Canadian, known for his volcanic temper? Rikard Grönborg, ZSC Lions coach, takes a deep breath before kicking into touch with a smile on the corner of his lips that says it all: “DiDomenico is the engine of Fribourg-Gottéron, it’s the X factor of this team. Inevitably, when he is on the ice, you always have to keep an eye on him…”
Low blows and scuffles
On Sunday, the Zurich hockey players were even overzealous. If they did indeed keep an eye on the best player of the Dragons, they did not miss any opportunity to bully him. Like Reto Schäppi, who rushed at the Canadian at the start of the match for no reason after a stoppage by ZSC goalkeeper Ludovic Waeber. Both players finished in the penalty box, although DiDomenico was not the instigator of the scuffle. For the ZSC, a paying tactic. After 65 minutes of a match lost 3-2 after extra time, DiDomenico had met half of the Zurich team, starting with Reto Schäppi and brothers Chris and Phil Baltisberger.
Christian Dubé, for his part, did not appreciate certain scenes involving his topscorer at all. But the Dragons coach did not want to add fuel to the fire. “We will have to see how we can settle this,” breathed the Dragons coach. A way of saying that the teammates of “DiDo” will in turn have to raise their voices on Tuesday and better “protect” the key player of the team? It’s possible.
Although he has been a favorite target for the Zurich players since the start of the series, DiDomenico has brilliantly managed to keep his composure so far. Still, the intentions of the ZSC are very clear: to push the top scorer of the Dragons to the fault.
Rarely has a player been as dominant as Chris DiDomenico in the play-offs in recent years. Here are the other great individual performances on the road to the national title since 2010.
The Czech had dominated the play-offs with EV Zug (1 goal and 14 assists in 13 matches). In the final against GE Servette, he had raised his physical tone and considerably reduced the field of action of Henrik Tömmernest, the Eagles’ playmaker. XXL performance.
The American, author of 7 goals and 7 assists in 18 matches in 2019, again played a decisive role in his second title won with the SCB. He was the big goal man for the Bears on the road to the national title. Two years earlier, he had also been the guide of the SCB (with Andrew Ebbett, 20 points each) during the coronation of 2017, establishing himself as one of the greatest play-off players of recent years in Switzerland.
The Quebecer had guided Lugano until the seventh match of the final lost against Zurich after heroic performances in the jersey of the Bianconeri. Author of 10 goals and 13 assists in 18 matches, Lapierre had been the engine and the great leader of HC Lugano. He only missed the title to crown his exceptional career in the play-off.
With his 10 goals and 6 assists on the road to the 2013 title, Martin Plüss had been the engine and the great leader of the SCB in the play-off, even if his teammate Byron Ritchie (22 points) had finished first in the counters . In the final against Gottéron, Plüss had scored three times in six matches against the Dragons. His leadership and fighting qualities had been decisive for the SCB.
Twenty play-off matches, 25 points for Thomas Déruns, including 10 goals. At the top of his career, Chaux-de-Fonnier had shone with a thousand lights in the jersey of the Eagles and delivered gigantic performances with the GSHC. If the Genevans had not succeeded in conquering the trophy, his incredible “air hook” scored in the final against Bern (defeat in the seventh game) will remain engraved in the history of Swiss hockey.