The IIHF World Championships 2013 in Sweden and Finland have so far been a dream for Switzerland. The Swiss, led by Canadian head coach Sean Simpson, have so far dominated the Championships with three games played.
It all began for the team on May 3rd, with Switzerland facing off against Sweden. Despite being the underdogs, the Alpine nation stunned the hometown crowd at the Globe Arena in Stockholm with a dominant display of skill, winning the game in regulation time.
Matthias Bieber, Nino Niederreiter and an empty netter by Toronto born Swiss player Ryan Gardner secured a 3-2 win over the highly touted home side with Nino Niederreiter, a prospect of the New York Islanders, being selected as the Swiss player of the game.
After defeating the hometown Swedes, the Swiss did not rest on their laurels, putting up another classy display against the tournament favorite Team Canada on May 5th.
Switzerland scored goals one and four in a 2-2 regulation draw against the powerful Canadian team skating with star NHL players such as Steven Stamkos, Andrew Ladd and the Staal Brothers.
With Reto Suri scoring for the Swiss in the second round and Matt Duchene scoring in the third round of the penalty shootout, it took until round 8 for the Swiss to score again, Reto Suri netting his second goal of the shootout with Colorado player Matt Duchene failing to score on his final attempt.
A name that may be familiar to Canadian hockey fans is that of Swiss player Martin Gerber, starting netminder against both Sweden and Canada. Gerber most recently played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers in 2010/11 and throughout his career, the 38-year-old has featured in a total of 241 NHL regular season and playoff games.
About playing against his native country, Switzerland head coach Sean Simpson told CBC:
“It’s my job now to win for Switzerland, but it’s very special to not only to win against Canada, but every time you play against Canada”
After two great performances to begin the championships, no one could have blamed the Swiss for having an off-day, playing a tough Czech Republic team just 24 hours after the thriller against Canada.
Nobody told the Swiss though, the young team making it three wins from three games. After the Czech Republic led through 40 minutes following a double from Jiri Hudler, Switzerland stormed back in the third period, scoring 3 goals in the final 20 minutes through Simon Moser, Simon Bodenmann and an empty net goal by Reto Suri to seal the deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_2ZYLO5nFk
Through the impressive performances against arguably three of the best teams in the tournament Canada, Sweden and the Czech Republic, Switzerland finds themselves at the top of Group S with 2 wins and 1 overtime win for a total of 8 points and a goal differential of +5.
The next challenge for the Swiss comes on Wednesday May 8th at 4pm local time against Slovenia in Stockholm, with the Slovenians having lost both of their opening games against Norway and Belarus.
As per the official IIHF World Championships website, the current Swiss roster consists of the following players:
|
Goalkeepers |
|||
|
Name |
Birthdate |
No. |
Club |
|
BERRA Reto |
3 JAN 1987 |
20 |
EHC Biel |
|
GERBER Martin |
3 SEP 1974 |
26 |
Rogle Angelholm |
|
Defence |
|||
|
Name |
Birthdate |
No. |
Club |
|
VAUCLAIR Julien |
2 OCT 1979 |
3 |
HC Lugano |
|
BLINDENBACHER Severin |
15 MAR 1983 |
5 |
ZSC Lions Zurich |
|
SEGER Mathias |
17 DEC 1977 |
31 |
ZSC Lions Zurich |
|
FURRER Philippe |
16 JUN 1985 |
54 |
SC Bern |
|
BLUM Eric |
13 JUN 1986 |
58 |
Kloten Flyers |
|
von GUNTEN Patrick |
10 FEB 1985 |
72 |
Kloten Flyers |
|
JOSI Roman |
1 JUN 1990 |
90 |
Nashville Predators |
|
GROSSMANN Robin |
17 AUG 1987 |
91 |
HC Davos |
|
Forwards |
|||
|
Name |
Birthdate |
No. |
Club |
|
AMBUHL Andres |
14 SEP 1983 |
10 |
ZSC Lions Zurich |
|
CUNTI Luca |
4 JUL 1989 |
12 |
ZSC Lions Zurich |
|
NIEDERREITER Nino |
8 SEP 1992 |
22 |
Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
|
BODENMANN Simon |
2 MAR 1988 |
23 |
Kloten Flyers |
|
SURI Reto |
25 MAR 1989 |
24 |
EV Zug |
|
PLUSS Martin |
5 APR 1977 |
28 |
SC Bern |
|
TRACHSLER Morris |
15 JUL 1984 |
43 |
ZSC Lions Zurich |
|
BIEBER Matthias |
14 MAR 1986 |
48 |
Kloten Flyers |
|
GARDNER Ryan |
18 APR 1978 |
51 |
SC Bern |
|
HOLLENSTEIN Denis |
15 OCT 1989 |
70 |
Kloten Flyers |
|
MOSER Simon |
10 MAR 1989 |
82 |
SCL Tigers Langnau |
|
WALKER Julian |
10 SEP 1986 |
95 |
Geneve-Servette |