HC Davos humiliates Team Canada at the Spengler Cup: After conceding six goals in the third period, the Canadians had to leave the ice with a 1:8 defeat. With this victory, HC Davos is directly qualified for the semi-finals on Friday and gets an extra day off tomorrow. Petr Sykora scored three goals.
This win was a very impressive payback for Davos’s 0:4 loss in the semi-final last year and the game couldn’t have gone more smoothly for the home side. Since Team Canada’s first appearance at the Spengler Cup, the North Americans have hardly ever suffered such a painful defeat. Swiss record champions HC Davos literally destroyed the 11-time Spengler Cup winners during the last period.
Against the Flyers in the Semi-Finals?
With a very impressive performance tonight, the host team has gained a well-deserved extra day off tomorrow. It’s possible that they’ll be facing the Kloten Flyers, the second Swiss participant, in the semi-finals; it would be a re-match of last year’s championship playoff finals. If the Flyers beat Vitkovice tomorrow, the team from Zurich will be playing against HC Davos – it would be a highlight in a perfect tournament schedule.
US forward Robbie Earl, loaned from Salzburg for the Spengler Cup, usually plays in Austria’s hockey league, where he scores regularly and where he constantly shows very convincing performances.
Earl Puts Himself in the Limelight
Tonight he showed his offensive qualities to the crowds in Switzerland as well: With some irresistible solos, he prepared HC Davos’s game-winning third goal by Sejna (43.) and the final goal to put the score to 8:1 (Brendl/58.); finally, he scored the fourth Davos goal himself: it really was a perfect TV commercial for Robbie Earl – no one would be surprised if he would be offered a permanent contract with a team from the Swiss national league after this performance at the Spengler Cup.
After Earl’s goal that put Davos 4:1 ahead, the host team was not going to let go anymore and humiliated the Canadian side at minute intervals: Petr Sykora topped off his great performance with three goals, Sejna scored two powerplay goals, Bürgler scored his first goal of the tournament and Brendl, loaned from Rapperswil, also got to score one.
Swiss Final Not Possible Anymore
After the preliminary round of the tournament, it’s now clear that there won’t be a Swiss final at the Spengler Cup. The Kloten Flyers, ranked second in the Torriani Group, will be playing against HC Vitkovice on Thursday afternoon. If they win this game, they’ll face HC Davos in the semi-final on Friday afternoon.
Davos. 85th Spengler Cup. Preliminary Round. Cattini Group: Davos - Team Canada 8:1 (0:0, 2:1, 6:0). – Final ranking (2 games): 1. Davos 6. 2. Team Canada 3. 3. Vitkovice 0. – Torriani Group: Dinamo Riga - Wolfsburg 3:1 (2:0, 0:0, 1:1). – Final ranking (2 games): 1. Dinamo Riga 6. 2. Kloten 3. 3. Wolfsburg 0. – Fixtures. Thursday: Kloten - Vitkovice (3pm CET) and Team Canada - Wolfsburg (8:15pm CET). – Friday (semi-finals): Davos - winner Kloten/Vitkovice (3pm CET) and Dinamo Riga against winner Team Canada/Wolfsburg (8:15pm CET). – Saturday: final game at 12pm CET. (Si)
