HCD turns things around in the final third against Canada

Canada – Davos 3:4

Host Davos claimed victory in the Catigny group of the Spengler Cup, qualifying directly for the semi-finals on Saturday. Josh Holden's team won the “Group Final” against Team Canada after a 4:3 comeback.

The Davos side scored 1:3 into the final third in a sold-out arena once again. Defender Michael Vora started the comeback and scored 85 seconds after the second break with a long shot to make it 2-3. The indestructible Andres Ampol scored the goal 3:3 (51) with a backhand kick, and the famous winning goal in the 57th minute was scored by defender Calle Anderson, who usually plays for Lugano. Four minutes earlier, HCD goalkeeper Gil Sin made a great save on a shot from Michael Jolly, who was attacking him alone.

The fact that Davos was down by two goals after two-thirds was not consistent with what appeared. After Henrik Haapala, another reinforcement player, scored the equalizer to make it 1-1 in the 31st minute, the momentum was already on the side of the home team, who came close to taking the lead several times. In the 34th minute, for example, striker Jesper Olofsson broke his stick alone in front of Canadian goalkeeper Tomas Milic.

Instead of making it 2-1, HCD fell behind again in the 38th minute, with Zak Leslie's shot blocked by Jolly. Things got worse for the home team as John Quenneville, who hit the crossbar in the 29th minute, made it 3-1 with 57.3 seconds left in the second half. Unfortunately, Enzo Corvi blocked a shot that was actually harmless. But in the end that was just a side note.

This means that the Davos team will have a rest day on Friday, while the Canadian team will face the Finnish team, Kalpa Kuopio, in the quarter-finals.

Team Canada – Davos 3:4 (1:0, 2:1, 0:3)
Davos. 6,267 spectators (sold out). SR Tscherrig/Lemelin (Switzerland/USA), Hautamäki/Cattaneo (FIN/SUI).
Portals: 5. Joris (Sevior, Asselin) 1:0. 31. Haapala (Rasmussen) 1: 1. 38. Jolly (Leslie, Quenneville) 2: 1. 40. Quenneville (Rizzo, Ang) 3:1. 42. Vora (Olofsson, Viser) 3: 2. 51. Ambuhle (Hapala, Rasmussen) 3: 3. 57. Andersson (Weiser, Korvi) 3: 4.
punish: 4 times 2 minutes each.

Pardubice – Kalpa 2:1

Ambri-Piotta received no shooting help from KalPa Kuopio at the Spengler Cup. The Finns lost to Pardubice 1: 2. Thanks to their second win, the Czech Republic qualified directly to the semi-finals on Saturday as the winners of the Torriani group. Embry will face Frolunda Gothenburg in the quarterfinals on Friday at 3:10 p.m.

In the match between Pardubice and Kalpa, all the goals came in the final third. Tomas Zohorna scored the decisive goal, 2-1, in the 58th minute after shooting a ball behind his own goal. Goalkeeper Milan Klucic was credited with the assist. The Finns still had an answer for former Davos player Robert Kosal's 1-0 lead (42nd) – and Aleksei Klimiti equalized in the 49th minute on the power play with a deflected shot.

Pardubice – Kalpa Kuopio 2:1 (0:0, 0:0, 2:1)
Davos. 6,267 spectators (sold out). S. R. Stricker/Hörlimann, Lederer/Stadler.
Portals: 42. Kosal (Radel, Zohorna) 1-0. 49. Clemeti (Sissons, Pitkanen/Fala excluded) 1:1. 58. Zohorna (Closek) 2:1.
punish: 11 times 2 plus 5 minutes (Dvorak) plus playing time (Dvorak) against Pardubice, 4 times 2 minutes against Kalpa Kuopio.

(NI/DAP)