The 20th edition of the Dolomitencup is approaching its climax: EV Zug secured their place in the final with a 2–0 victory over the German champions from Berlin. They will face HC Kometa in the final on Sunday. The celebrated hero at the Würtharena in Neumarkt – which was once again sold out with almost 1,000 spectators – was an absolute superstar of international ice hockey: Leonardo Genoni.
Meaningless summer ice hockey? Not at the Dolomitencup! Not with these two teams! When the top Swiss club, with its numerous players with NHL experience, faces off against the German serial champions and cult club Eisbären Berlin, it’s far more than just a friendly. On Saturday afternoon, a whiff of top-class international ice hockey wafted through the packed Würtharena. In the end, the favourites came out on top: Jacob Moverare and Chris Egli put Zug 2–0 up, a lead that Swiss national goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni ultimately preserved with a shutout.
On the second day of the tournament, however, the spotlight initially fell on the fans: supporters from both camps cheered their heroes on vociferously, with the Swiss section even staging a specially prepared choreographed display. Down on the ice, both teams spent a long time feeling each other out cautiously – before Zug suddenly kicked into gear. Following some early dangerous warning shots from Gregory Hofmann and his team-mates, the puck finally found the back of the net in the 13th minute. Jacob Moverare, whom EVZ had only signed from Los Angeles this summer, took advantage of a scramble in front of the opposition’s goal to somehow slot the puck past Eisbären goalkeeper Jack Lafontaine from a tight angle.
Leonardo Genoni saves absolutely everything
However, Zug’s opening goal initially proved to be of little help to the rest of the match. The favourites from Central Switzerland took their foot off the gas in the second period, whilst the Eisbären, although clearly dominating play, failed to create any clear-cut chances – partly because the DEL club’s attacking mechanisms weren’t quite clicking at times in their first pre-season outing. And whenever the German champions did manage to break through the defence, Genoni was still there. The legendary Zug goalkeeper saved everything that even came close to his net.
And what did Genoni’s teammates do? They waited patiently until the Eisbären’s spell of pressure was over and then struck with clinical precision. With one minute remaining, Chris Egli finished off a counter-attack into an empty net to make it 2–0. That was the final score of the second semi-final.
One highlight follows another
Saturday has yet another highlight in store, however: in the evening, the big anniversary party will take place in the centre of Neumarkt. From 8 pm, the 20th edition of this iconic tournament will be celebrated in style – naturally in the presence of the four participating teams. Finally, on Sunday, the new Dolomites Cup champion will be crowned. At 8 pm, the top Czech club HC Kometa will face Zug in the final, whilst earlier in the afternoon (3.45 pm), Augsburg and Berlin will go head-to-head in an all-German clash for third place.
EV Zug – Eisbären Berlin 2:0 (1:0, 0:0, 1:0)
Zug: Genoni (Birchler); Sklenicka-Diaz, Geisser-Schneller, Moverare-Bengtsson, Stadler-Balestra; Rohrer-Hofmann-Tatar, Kovar-Kubalik-Wingerli, Senteler-Gredig-Wey, Egli-Petrovic-Leuenberger, Antenen.
Coach: Lauri Marjamäki
Berlin: Lafontaine (Neffin); Müller-Wissmann, Smith-Reinke, Kretzschmar-Mik, Has; Fontaine-Kirk-Ronning, Eder-Hördler-Pföderl, Vikingstad-Veilleux-Krestan, Wiederer-Saffran-Griva.
Coach: Eric Dubois.
Goals: 1:0 Jacob Moverare (12.18), 2:0 Chris Egli (58.57)
MVP: Leonardo Genoni (Zug), Ty Ronning (Berlin)
Referees: Virta, Lazzeri (Brondi, Fleischmann)
Attendance: 978 (ausverkauft)
Photo: Max Pattis
