Ice hockey: A valiant Gottéron loses on penalties in Zurich

A shot on goal from Sprunger on the board. Another one from Wallmark on the post. Fribourg-Gottéron did not deserve to lose on penalties on Saturday in Zurich (2-1), at the end of a series which saw only one man, in this case Rohrer, light the red lamp.

It was the same Rohrer who reignited the flame for Zurich mid-match, taking advantage of a bad pass from Sörensen in the power play to go off alone to face Berra. Superiority play remains a point to improve for the BCF Arena squad. Like this other power-play overused much too quickly by the Friborgs in the 50th, when Sprunger was booked after barely 30 seconds of numerical superiority.

For the rest, the Dragons produced a very clean copy. Carried by an excellent Mottet-Bertschy-Sprunger line, an equally prominent Streule and Dorthe and a Lilja who has already made her mark, they reacted very well after their defeat against Kloten. The Dragons arrived on the leader’s ice without any complexes and, above all, with an impeccable attitude. Concerned, well in place defensively, not hesitating to throw themselves in front of opposing shots, Pat Emond’s protégés showed the attitude necessary to get out of the depths of the ranking.

After a first third largely dominated by Gottéron, who logically opened the scoring with a shot from Diaz from the blue line, the Lions gradually gained strength in the middle period. Nothing more was scored during a completely unbridled third period, like the rest of the match, played at a very high pace. Nothing to do with the more tactical match on Thursday against Kloten. And without an excellent Hrubec, Gottéron could have taken the three points from the reigning champion. Berra also made several high-class saves, notably in front of Weber six tenths from the end of extra time.

The Dragons must take this last meeting before the international break as a reference match before hosting Berne on Friday November 15. Immediately, they move up to 11th place in the rankings.

Zurich – Fribourg-Gottéron 2-1 tab (0-1 1-0 0-0)