The many events of December prevented you from following your favorite team? Enjoying a moment of calm before starting the Christmas meal marathon? Then this catch-up is for you. About every 2 weeks, RTSsport.ch offers you a summary of the news from French-speaking National League clubs.
ADD: The 13th consecutive defeat will have been too many for Filip Pesan. The Czech coach was dismissed by his sports director Julien Vauclair, who took his place on the bench (see box). The situation had become untenable in recent weeks for the former Czech Republic coach and the question was no longer whether he was going to be removed from his post, but when. According to the explanations he provided in various media, Julien Vauclair decided to activate the ax quickly in order to have enough time to relaunch a positive dynamic before a probable series of playouts. The sporting director will be supported by assistants Petteri Nummelin and Ivano Zanatta, who will remain in post.
Julien Vauclair had already coached the club at the end of last season with a record of 3 wins out of 10 matches. He had especially contributed to (re)making Porrentruy an almost impregnable citadel since only the Bernese enemy had imposed itself there. Can it be so again this season? The Bruntrutains in any case take the path since after an initial defeat 5-3 in Klotenthe return to their rink allowed them to break a streak of 14 defeats in a row by winning 5-3 against Ambri. Morale boosted, the Ajoulots did it again the next day at Malley (2-1 success) to end the year 2022 on 2 consecutive victories. A breath of fresh air which also bears the mark of the Swiss players, 4 of the last 6 goals of the HCA having been scored by skaters with a Swiss passport.
BIEL: But where will the HCB stop? Customary of a good start to the season, the Seelanders are continuing their positive series this time well beyond the first 15 matches. Over this fortnight, they recorded 6 wins for 2 losses, chaining 2 times 3 consecutive victories. Even the injury of Harri Säteri, excellent in recent weeks, does not seem to affect them too much since Simon Rytz has solidly replaced the Finn with 90.9% saves in 3 starts. The 39-year-old veteran also enjoyed the luxury of an evening off during which Elien Paupe came to help out his former club with success (94.7% saves for a 2-1 win at Rapperswil).
Everything seems to slide over the people of Biel without ever reaching them. However, they are not resting on their laurels if we are to believe the words of Etienne Froidevaux. on our site: « We are in good shape, but we must not let go because the wind can quickly turn. The failure suffered in the quarter-finals against Zurich still remains in our throats, and this state of mind could help us. We will have to be ‘on fire’ at the right time, during the playoffs “. Second in the National League tied with Geneva, the Seelanders have the best shooting efficiency (12%) and the best box-play (87.2%). Over this fortnight, they are also the best team in the championship with 18 points collected out of a possible 24 and have the best goal difference (+10). Biel also has hired Canadian center Riley Sheahan in order to be able to count on 6 foreign outfield players when Joren Van Pottelberghe returns to competition. For the moment, the new 31-year-old reinforcement is aligned in the 4th line (!), an additional sign which demonstrates the quality of the workforce of the EHCB.
FRIBORG: The Dragons continue to make their merry way without noise. Despite a series of 5 consecutive defeats before the international break, the Fribourgeois are in 4th place in the National League in the number of points per game (1.69), even if the real classification (7th) does not do them justice because of their matches. late. In goal, Connor Hughes remains one of the best goalkeepers in the championship with 2 goals against per 60 minutes and his defense is in 4th place with 2.4 goals conceded per game. As for the offense, which is only 10th in the league with 2.8 successes per game, it seems to have taken advantage of the break to adjust, thus managing to score 5 goals in a meeting for the 4th time this season only, the 1st since last October 22, during the success 7-4 v Lugano.
The Dragons depend enormously on their Swiss players, since 66.3% of their goals have been scored by skaters with a Swiss passport (2nd highest total in the championship). It is therefore quite logical that Nathan Marchon was extended for one year by Christian Dubé despite a more complicated season than the previous one (8 points in 29 games), while defender and current topscorer Ryan Gunderson also saw his lease extended for one season despite being 37 years old. Finally, the No. 2 goalkeeper role for next season has been awarded: Connor Hughes will leave Friborg for Lausanne et Bryan Rüegger will replace him from Thurgau. The present remains to be settled since Jeffrey Meier had to return to the side of Zurich, thus leaving a question mark on the name of the doorman who will support Connor Hughes until the return of Reto Berra.
GENEVA: The Eagles have been experiencing a more turbulent period for a few weeks. Over this fortnight, they are running at 1.29 points per game with 3 wins and 4 losses (8th in the National League over this period). While they managed to get out of almost all the pitfalls at the start of the season, the Genevans no longer find the solution so easily. The 4-1 loss at Vernets against Langnau was the perfect illustration of this. The Servettiens also lost Deniss Smirnovs and Teemu Hartikainen to injury during this meeting, pushing Jan Cadieux to modify all his lines for the trip to Friborg the next day. Without more success (2-1 loss), despite a performance much more in line with their status.
Despite everything, Geneva’s statistics remain excellent this season: the Eagles have the best attack in the league with 3.5 successes per game and the 2nd best defense (2.4 goals conceded per game). The GSHC is also the 2nd most efficient team in shooting (11.6%) and still has the best power play (27.4%). The Servettiens end the year 2022 at the top of the National League, but their lead over Biel has completely disappeared (65 points each in 32 games). The 2 consecutive defeats should serve as a reminder to Geneva, which could even lose its 1st place on January 1 with the early match in Biel.
LAUSANNE: The Lions are better since the arrival of Geoff Ward, without this materializing in the standings. With a record of 6 wins for 6 losses, they stagnate in 13th place, but only 3 points from the top-10. Everything is therefore still possible for Vaudois who must gain in regularity, as evidenced by their 2-1 loss at home against Ajoie after 2 convincing performances against Zurich (victoire 2-0) and Berne (victoire 5-2). They may have also made their reference match just before the international break against the Zurich Lions. In any case, this is the opinion of Jason Fuchs at the microphone of Sport Première: “We really played a solid game from start to finish, which we lacked a bit in the last matches. We didn’t leave them much and we scored goals when necessary. Ivars Punnenovs was solid in goal and Aurélien Marti blocked many shots. This is also what makes the difference, when players sacrifice themselves for the team. Both the puck does not go on goal and, on the bench, it gives us energy“.
The returns of Andrea Glauser and Michael Raffl, injured almost since the start of the season, also bring some depth and important leadership to the Malley Lions. In front of the net, Ivars Punnenovs also produced several high-flying performances, but if the Latvian goalkeeper delivers the goods, the position of goalkeeper has still occupied John Fust in recent days. The Vaud sports director has hired Connor Hughes for next season from Freiburg to form a duo that looks very promising with Ivars Punnenovs. At the end of the contract, Tobias Stephan will, at 38, have to find a new club if he intends to continue his career.
Bastien Trottet – @BastienTrottet