Losing 1-0 away in a home-and-away series is far from dramatic. It is this statement that the players and coaches of Fribourg-Gottéron must keep in mind after this defeat Tuesday in the first leg of the CHL round of 16 against the Väjxö Lakers. No, this match wasn’t bad overall, but the inability to generate dangerous attacks and score goals remains worrying.
Gottéron arrived in Sweden with good intentions. The domination at the start of the match is proof of this. Until the Dragons’ first penalties midway through the first period, they appeared to be the only team on the Vida Arena ice. Freiburg allowed Väjxö to get back into the match and the pace became evenly balanced. We witnessed a duel between two tight teams in the defensive zone, led by good goalkeepers in full control of their talent.
The two attacks indeed had great difficulty creating scoring chances from the pay zone. One of the Dragons’ only big chances came in the second half from Lucas Wallmark’s cane. A perfect, violent wrist shot… but on the post. This lack of realism ended up being costly. A few minutes after this missed chance, defender Elias Rosén thwarted Reto Berra after a perfect staging from his teammate Dylan McLaughlin.
This 1-0 lead was enough for the Lakers who simply closed the game in the third period and let the Friborg storm pass.
See you in a week
The two teams meet next Tuesday at the BCF Aréna for the return match of this series. The Freiburgers will have to get back to basics against a team that knows how to close the game. Passes with little chance of success which too often become turnovers will be avoided. Thus, Väjxö goalkeeper Adam Åhman will perhaps see more than 14 shots during the match…
