After scoring the equaliser in the third, Luleå Hockey seemed to have caught some steam, but a stingy EV Zug defence, capped off by the excellent play of Leonardo Genoni, left a sour taste in the Swedes’ mouths as they failed to take home the victory on home ice.
The Swedes played an extremely tight game. They were able to match Zug’s intensity at times – even outshooting them – and outpaced them for some stretches. Yet, their lack of engineering sustained offensize zone time ultimately stonewalled them from producing any real threat to the more structured play of the Swiss.
They’ve managed to beat Bern twice in the past: 3-0 in the PostFinance Arena before storming to a 4-2 win at home. If they are to replicate one of those nights, they’ll need to dig deep and find their strength as Bern are a top contender in every competition they play in.