legend:
Fresh out of the box
Christophe Bertschi celebrates his goal to make it 2-0.
Fresh Focus/Urs Lindt
- Friborg Goteron won the seventh match over Lugano at home 4-2 and thus qualified to the quarter-finals 4-3.
- The guests from Ticino could close the gap to two goals twice, but that's not enough.
- In the semi-finals (from Easter Monday) the second-placed qualifier will face either Lausanne, Zug or Bern.
With a 2-0 lead and a penalty against the opposition, Gutierron had all the aces at the start of the second third. But a little sloppiness in the build-up and a brilliant backhand kick from Lugano top scorer Daniel Carr later, despite the numerical advantage, suddenly made the score only 2-1 from the host's point of view.
Shortly after halftime, Freiburg did better on the next power play: Canadian Chris DiDomenico stopped from the blue line and scored with his direct shot against the “changed direction” of Lugano goalkeeper Niklas Schlegel. This restored the two-goal lead.
Thürkauf's top scorer in luck
But true to their motto “non molare mai” (“Never give up”), the Luganesi were at it again, and captain Calvin Thurkov was lucky to hit the ball with his shoelaces (min. 40). In particular: a few minutes ago, Thorkauf had to go to the shower because of a “big foot” violation (crossing your leg behind your skate).
Although Ticino insisted on achieving an equalizer in the final third, it did not happen. The visitors even missed a 4-minute penalty kick against Benoit Djeker. Gouteron's extremely powerful goalkeeper, Reto Berra, who was eventually named man of the match, allowed wave after wave of attacks to bounce off him. In the final seconds, Christophe Bertschi scored into an empty net to make the final score 4-2. This means that 21 of the previous 23 quarter-final matches went to the team that managed to score 1-0.
Motet is an artist, and Bertschi is smart
Amid encouraging cheers from a well-filled BCF Stadium, Freiburg were already on their way to victory in the first third. Kilian Motet-Schlegel caught 'Buebetrickli' after Santeri Alatalo carelessly missed a goal behind the goal. Bertschi made it 2-0 shortly after the break, coming straight from the penalty area.
And this is how it continues
After the “deciding rest day” on Good Friday, the last two quarter-final matches will end on Saturday: there is also the seventh match in Lausanne-Davos and Zug-Bern.
Freiburg's semi-final series begins on Easter Monday, and the opponent will be LHC if Lausanne advances, otherwise the winner of the duel between Zug and Bern.
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