ZSC Lions stay alive

13 Apr 2012 | Dennis Mende

Zürich won in Bern to add at least another game to NLA's final series; Ambrì-Piotta remains in Swiss top league

Playoff finals:

SC Bern - ZSC Lions 1:2 OT

The home side could have won the Swiss championship yesterday evening and so they did everything to get in front in the first period, but again and again they failed to score. Also in the middle period Bern was the driving force on the ice but without being rewarded for their efforts. Even in the power play they found no way to get the puck into the net. On the other side it was Domenico Pittis who used one of the rare opportunities for his team after a nice pass by Andreas Ambühl to get a very, very lucky guest lead in the 29th minute. Now Bern was even more motivated and just four minutes later Etienne Froideveaux received a pass at the blue line, went in front of the goal and with a nice back hander into the right corner tied the match. Also in the last period Bern with a lot of pressure and good chances but the score didn't change. On the other side Blaine Down had the really big chance to get his team in front with only four minutes to go but from a short distance Bern goalie Marco Bührer made an amazing pad save. In the same situation Patrik Bärtschi also had a huge opportunity for the ZSC Lions. In the overtime both teams wanted a fast decision. After a good pass by Jeff Tambellini it was Luca Cunti who missed the wide open SCB net - unbelievable! In the 70th Mathias Seger did it better and won the game for Zürich which now has the opportunity to tie the series at home in the next game.

SC Bern leads 3-2 in the series

Relegation:

HC Ambrì-Piotta - SC Langenthal 3:0

As in the previous four games again the winner of the match scored three goals. With goals by Gregory Hofmann, Marco Pedretti and Inti Pestoni, the home side Ambrì-Piotta had no problems to decided the series at home and to stay at least another year in the NLA. One of the biggest propblems of NLB champions SC Langenthal in this series was the lack of efficiency in front of the opponent's goal and a rather shaky defense so that the series win for Ambrì was never in real danger.

HC Ambrì-Piotta wins series 4-1