After advancing to the Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals this season, HC Davos will return next season after finishing 2nd in the Swiss NLA's regular season.
CHL News, quotes from Andreas Reiner
ZURICH – The Swiss Nationalliga A's first qualifier for the 2016–17 Champions Hockey League season went right down to the end between Geneve-Servette and HC Davos – the same two teams that played in the competition this season. Thanks to a 4–1 victory over the ZSC Lions in Zurich on Saturday night, Davos finish 2nd in the regular season and qualify for the CHL.
They entered the final weekend with a 2-point lead over Geneve, with both teams having two games to play on Friday and Saturday – Davos home and away against Zurich and Geneve home and away against HC Lausanne. A Geneve win combined with a Davos loss on Friday put Les Aigles in the driver's seat heading into the last day. However, on Saturday night Davos got the road win, while Geneve blew a 3–2 lead in Lausanne and lost 5–3.
When it was over, Davos left winger Dino Wieser acknowledged that after his team lost on Friday, they knew they'd need help from Lausanne on Saturday.
“Yes of course, we had that in our heads and wanted to secure the second spot in yesterday's game already. But we were also lucky tonight that Geneve lost so we're definitely happy,” said 26-year-old Wieser, who had an assist in the last game of the regular season, and had 7 points (3 + 4) in 8 CHL games this season.
But before they begin their next CHL campaign in August, Davos will try to repeat as Swiss national champions. About the team's preparations over the next few days, Wieser explained, “We'll take two days off, relax and regain some strength before we complete two or three tough practices and get ready for the start of our playoff series against the Kloten Flyers on Thursday.”
Geneve, who have played in each of the CHL's first two seasons, still have a chance to qualify again, but will have to do it in the playoffs, starting with their quarter-final series against Fribourg-Gotteron. Other candidates to become the sixth Swiss club include Kloten, who participated in 2014–15, and HC Lugano.
The fortunes of Davos and Geneve were radically different in 2015–16. While Davos won Group E and went all the way to the Semi-Finals before bowing out to eventual champions Frolunda Gothenburg, Geneve were 3rd and last in Group M, finishing outside the final field of 32 teams.