Genève-Servette reprend sa place dans le top 6 du hockey sur glace

Given the recent history between the two teams, every meeting between Genève-Servette and Lugano is special, as if it were a derby. In the stands first. One only had to see the number of people engaged in order to supervise the Lugano fans on Thursday evening at the Vernets, and thus avoid any potential trouble. On the ice, the duel was intense between the two teams. And for good reason: the sixth place in the standings was at stake. And the Eagles moved ahead of their opponents thanks to their 2-1 victory.

The Genevans got off to a better start than the people of Ticino but they were surprised by the first attack by the Bianconeri in the offensive zone. Mark Arcobello (7^th0-1) was the quickest on a loose puck in front of Jussi Olkinuora. Despite several clear opportunities, Jan Cadieux’s men went to the dressing room behind in the score.

It was ultimately veteran Valtteri Filppula (26^th1-1) who set the Grenats back on track after a well-executed collective sequence. This after GSHC suffered for two minutes with a man less on the ice. The turning point came in the middle of the game, when the Servettiens easily killed a four-minute penalty against their captain Noah Rod.

Filled with extra energy, Genève-Servette took the lead on the power play through Tanner Richard (37^th2-1) and held on without really suffering until the 58^th minute and the equalizer by Santeri Alatalo. A success ultimately annulled, after a video review, for offside. Jussi Olkinuora still pulled off a little miracle in front of Michael Joly, who was left alone, four seconds from the end to delight the 6838 spectators.

On Saturday (7:45 p.m.), GSHC will travel to the Grisons to face Davos. Another direct competitor for the much-desired, and crucial, top 6.