HC Bienne has found the miracle recipe

Eighth in the National League before their trip to Kloten on Saturday (7:45 p.m.), the Biel residents, with their squad completely overhauled, miraculously manage to do as well as last season, thanks to a particular game plan, undetectable by the simple analysis of statistics.

The renewal of HC Bienne is quite spectacular. Among the players who won 3-2 against Ambri exactly a year ago, only eight participated in the success of the Zealanders on Thursday with the same score against Lausanne. Even the head coach and his assistants are no longer there. Injuries, resignations and transfers have caused such a roster shake-up. Despite this, Biel is practically at the same level as 365 days ago: 8th with 55 points in its pocket (87/87), compared to 54 points in 38 matches (101/99) at the start of 2024.

The Biennois are only among the best in one statistic: goals conceded, where they are only ahead of the ZSC Lions. This can be explained by the quality of the goalkeepers: Harri Säteri (30 games) and Luis Janett (8 games), who repelled more than 93% of pucks this season. The victory against the LHC, current leader of the championship, was “stolen” by Janett, imperial in front of the cage despite the successive assaults of the opponents. In other areas, HC Bienne is average or bad: 6th in powerplay, 8th in boxplay, 8th in shots, 13th in goals scored and 14th in faceoff rankings.

With all this data proliferating, any computer scientist who has never set foot in an ice rink could today carry out analyzes as in-depth as those of a national coach. But Biel’s revival under the leadership of Martin Filander cannot be explained by numbers. It lies in a particularity, which may not be seen on television, but which appears to the eyes of spectators at the ice rink: the Zealanders run, run, run, again and again.

In fact, the specificity of the Biel game could only be understood by measuring the number of meters covered. It is a purely active style. No one stays still, except the goalkeeper, obviously. We are playing modern hockey, total hockey where everyone is moving, not just the player in possession of the puck. This, even when the opponent is in the offensive phase.

This tactic, simple on paper, is in reality difficult to implement, because blind ardor is often harmful. Shopping is only effective when done intelligently, with good organisation. Thursday, Lausanne dominated the third period, 22 shots to 7, but Bienne won this phase of play with a score of 2-0. The day before, Langnau had been clearly superior in the final third (13 shots to 6), but had also lost 2-0. In Emmental as against Lausanne, HC Bienne resisted opposing pressure thanks to its active defense.

The clear improvement in defense compared to last season undoubtedly has a link with the new assistant: Beat Forster. The man knows the profession of defender thanks to his experience of more than 1000 matches and his numerous trophies. He played at the club for his last seven seasons, and therefore knows the Zealand house well. If he says something about being a defender, everyone listens to him in the locker room.

In fact, it’s that simple: runs, whether defensive or offensive, are the best way to compensate for a lack of talent. If the money is not there to purchase more complete elements, the sports director must then be careful not to hire players who have too heavy feet. And then, movement work also brings emotions to the ice rink. Active play creates atmosphere and enhances entertainment.

Moreover, Bienne is the very example of a “hockey” culture which does not live only for victories and titles. The occupancy rate of the Tissot Arena increases in 2024/2025 to 94.35% and is higher than during the 2022/2023 season (89.05%). An exercise that the Biennois had completed in second place, before later taking Geneva-Servette to the seventh match in the final.

From a style point of view, Ambri is undoubtedly the club closest to HC Bienne. It is no coincidence that the Léventins have the best occupancy rate in the league (95.37%), just behind Gottéron.