The usual top performer again: Denis Malgin scored the winning goal for the ZSC Lions
Keystone
The ZSC Lions win 3-0 against Lugano to open the quarter-final series, but the Ticino team is an absolutely equal opponent.
It has been eight years since the once “Grande Lugano” won a playoff series. With the ZSC Lions, they now face perhaps the biggest possible hurdle to end this negative streak. Under Swedish coach Tomas Mitell, however, the Ticino side have become an unpleasant opponent, as the Zurich team found out on Saturday evening.
They were even dominated at times, and it was only after Derek Grant made it 2-0 with a good ten minutes to go that the defending champions were able to catch their breath. Jesper Fröden scored the third goal into the empty net.
Before the start of the playoffs at the ZSC Lions, they had talked a lot about how important the return of some recently injured key players would be on the way to a possible third championship title in a row. And it took Denis Malgin less than four minutes to confirm this theory.
In his inimitable style, the gifted technician set off in the middle zone, left everyone standing and scored to make it 1:0 for the Zurich team. However, it was not the start of a spectacular run, on the contrary.
ZSC had the strong goalie Simon Hrubec to thank for preventing a false start to the playoffs. The Czech goalie saved 24 shots and had the necessary luck with a penalty that Luca Fazzini hit the post in the middle third.
Telegram:
ZSC Lions – Lugano 3:0 (1:0, 0:0, 2:0)
12’000 spectators. – SR Kaukokari (FIN)/Gerber, Steenstra (CAN)/Humair. – Goals: 4. Malgin (Andrighetto) 1:0. 50. Grant (Balcers, Andrighetto) 2:0. 59. Malgin 3:0 (into the empty net). – Penalties: 1 x 2 minutes against ZSC Lions, 2 x 2 minutes against Lugano. – PostFinance top scorers: Andrighetto; Fazzini.
ZSC Lions: Hrubec; Kukan, Lehtonen; Weber, Marti; Trutmann, Geering; Schwendeler; Andrighetto, Malgin, Balcers; Frödén, Lammikko, Hollenstein; Rohrer, Grant, Riedi; Baltisberger, Sigrist, Baechler; Schreiber.
Lugano: Schlegel; Alatalo, Müller; Aebischer, Dahlström; Carrick, Jesper Peltonen; Brian Zanetti; Simion, Thürkauf, Sekac; Fazzini, Sanford, Canonica; Kupari, Tanner, Emanuelsson; Marco Zanetti, Morini, Bertaggia; Aleksi Peltonen.
Remarks: ZSC Lions without Bader (injured) and Sundström (extra foreigner), Lugano without Perlini and Valk (both extra foreigners). Lugano without a goalkeeper from 57:11 to 58:48.