Kloten takes win in race for 2nd place against Fribourg

The Flyers started with a few good attacks, Jim Vandermeer's slapshot was a first good test for goalie Benjamin Conz as the first minutes passed.

Romano Lemm in the 6th minute had another good chance but his shot was deflected by Conz once more. In the 9th minute it was Fribourg who was able to attack and when goalie Flückiger couldn't secure the rebounding puck it was Adrien Lauper who pushed the puck passed the goalie for the first lead of the game.

Seconds later Kloten was on the move and US forward Peter Mueller scored his 19th goal of the regular season assisted by Tommi Santala and Patrick von Gunten.

Kloten kept on powering and had the better chances, Marcel Jenni's shot missed the goal by centimeters  only. Neither Team was able to gain the overhand but this just made the game more interesting as shots were fired on both sides. Then out of nowhere, with a beautiful spin, Anthony Huguenin scored unassisted while Flückiger didn't look very stable  between the pipes. With a little less than 2 minutes to go in the first period the Flyers had their first powerplay as Joel Kwiatkowski was sent to the bench for hooking. Goalie Flückiger didn't look too good a few seconds later as he pushed the attacking player on the way back with his stick, he was therefore assessed with a 2 minute minor so both Teams played at same strength and now a bunch of emotions were added as goalie Conz was allegedly attacked but no further player was sent to the bench before the break.

For the first minutes in period 2 both Teams neutralised their game with good defensive work. In the 7th minute the Flyers were awarded a 2 minute powerplay after Killian Mottet was assessed with a 2 minute minor for slashing but except for a handful of shots Kloten wasn't able to score. With 11 minutes played, Philippe Schelling scored with a beautiful slapshot, Conz had little chance of saving the puck while Simon Bodenmann screened the Fribourg goalie. With that, the story of the 2nd period was told and the players left the ice for the second break.

The last period didn't start very eventful but Kloten had more puck possession and was better on the attack. Flückiger also had seemed to up his game and made a glorious glove save 6 minutes into the last period. With only 6 minutes to go Kloten had the lead for the first time in the game. Michael Liniger with his 9th goal of the season and Simon Bodenmann with his second assist of the evening successfully found a way past goalie Conz. And only 2 minutes later Captain Victor Stancescu decided the game with his 11th goal of the season. Fribourg tried to put the pressure on but didn't find a way past the defensive corps. With over a minute to play, Fribourg got a chance to play with a one man advantage after Micki Dupont was sent to the bench for slashing. At the same time, goalie Conz was removed for a 6th player but were punished for that move as Matthias Bieber scored from the defensive Zone to make the game 5:2.

The result didn't quite reflect the course of the game as Fribourg played on an even level  through parts of the game but their execution was simply insufficient.

Shots by period Kloten:                   Shots by period Fribourg:
1. 18                                              1. 17
2. 13                                              2.  7
3.   9                                              3. 11

Specators in Kolping Arena:5'769
Best Player Kloten: Philippe Schelling
Best Player Fribourg: Benjamin Conz

Side note: Romano Lemm was honoured for his 500th game in NLA.

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