Who will be able to stop the LHC? Monday at the Vaudoise Aréna, the Lions signed their 7th consecutive victory by beating Zug 2-1 after extra time. Everything now lies in the management of emotions for Geoff Ward’s men.
After a great start to the year with a great home victory against Kloten, and a shock at the Swiss Life Arena against the ZSC Lions, the LHC initially ran out of steam a little this Monday evening. The club hosted Zug at Malley. And we can say that Geoff Ward’s men, just like their Zug counterparts, arrived on the ice… like a Monday.
The first third actually looked more like a tennis match than a hockey match. The puck moving from one area to another without much imagination. And it was ultimately Zug who woke up first. Mischa Geisser, from the neutral zone, sent the puck forward and Lino Martschini offered himself a duel against Kevin Pasche. While the Lausanne defense remained nailed at the other end of the ice, the EVZ attacker had no difficulty in deceiving the Vaud goalkeeper (8th, assist: Mischa Geisser).
Consistency pays
The people of Lausanne perhaps returned when we least expected it. After two minutes of powerplay during which the Lions created some good chances, it was in the boxplay that they went for the equalizer.
Zug lost the puck in his zone, at the blue line. Good work from Janne Kuokkannen recovered the puck. Ahti Oksanen and David Sklenicka were therefore able to head towards Genoni’s goal. The first served a magnificent pass, between two Zougois, to the second who escaped in front of the goal. And Sklenicka thus signs the 1-1 (30th, assists: Ahti Oksanen and Janne Kuokannen).
Oksanen thus heats up his counter. With this assist, the Finn scores his 7th point in 4 games. But the striker assures him, there has been no major revolution in his way of training or playing recently. “It’s work!” he says. It’s hard to explain because I don’t feel like I’m doing anything differently. But by playing the same way, I am finally rewarded.” Was there perhaps a click with his teammates that improved his game? “Yes, we learn from everyone all the time,” says No. 29 of the LHC. I have the impression that now we are reading our game very well, especially with the forecheck. We know who is supposed to do what at what time, we all do it at the same time and it’s finally starting to pay off. Especially on the powerplay where I work a lot just in front of the goal.”
Scare yourself, and then win
At the end of the third, however, we found Lausanne which has this bad habit of putting itself in delicate situations at the least opportune moment. Players often emphasize the importance of starting and ending a period well. Well the end of the second and the start of the third third was quite the opposite.
The Lausanne residents found themselves 3 against 5 for two minutes. Upon returning from the locker room, there remained more than a minute and a half to play with a numerical inferiority. But after a few hot potato seconds, the Lions found a way to clear all the pucks. So when the two punished Lausanne players returned to the ice, there was euphoria in the stands.
Nothing to do, however, in normal time. The two teams were decided in overtime. It was Tim Bozon who delivered the Lions in a beautiful sequence launched by Jason Fuchs, and after a one-two between Bozon and Lukas Frick (64th, assists: Lukas Frick and Jason Fuchs). And with a little help from Zougois Top Scorer Daniel Vozelinek who stayed behind the action, letting his teammates defend 2 against 3.
A mind of steel
The LHC therefore continues its good momentum and is a full success for the moment in 2025. “It’s a good start,” says Oksanen. I don’t think it’s just the new year, it’s something we’ve built up to. We had a slightly more complicated transition at the end of November/beginning of December. We learned our lessons, we built on it and now we are rewarded.”
With a 7th consecutive victory, joy emanates from the Lausanne locker room.
However, if we take the 3 matches played since January 2, there is a common variable: the first third is far from perfect. “There is perhaps a little more letting go if I may say so,” admits Théo Rochette. But I think that overall we still did a good job, we didn’t give them much, we were perhaps a little less impactful offensively but we did the right things in our zone, we moved the ball well. puck and it pays.” The work at this stage is therefore largely mental.
This management of emotions therefore seems to work well in the Lausanne locker room. What is the key to maintaining this good state of mind?
For Geoff Ward, the success of his team lies initially in the fact that his squad is now “healthy”, since almost everyone has returned from injury, a first since September. And then also because the new players have now found their place in the locker room and are no longer really new players.
But when we talk about the emotional side, the coach notes the perfect state of mind and “mental discipline” of his players. “The danger for any team is falling into complacency,” notes the coach. That’s why you have to concentrate on one match at a time. Of course victories make the guys feel good. But you enjoy it tonight and tomorrow we go back to work. If we get to the point where it’s comfortable and we think we’re very good, then our competitiveness will drop. And it’s hard to come back once you get there.” Geoff Ward also emphasizes that what the players experienced last year had its share of lessons and that is a real plus in the locker room. “What I really like about this group is that they like being together. They enjoy being at the rink together, and that’s very, very important.”
Next match for the Lions will be Friday in Lugano.
