- Zug suffered first loss and first shutout of the season
- Tappara are looking to make it to the CHL Final for second consecutive campaign
- Discipline will be key for both clubs
Finnish side Tappara Tampere carry a two-goal aggregate lead heading into their Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals Return Game against Swiss challengers EV Zug with the latter set to host this all-or-nothing game.
The Swiss failed to score for the first time and suffered their first defeat of the season as they were unable to match the pace and intensity of their opponents in their first encounter but with their home fans behind them, they will look to make up the two goals from the get-go.
Zug entered the game boasting the CHL’s fourth-best goals for per game with 3.73 and third-best goals against per game at 1.45, but for all their offensive and defensive prowess, the Swiss could not contain the Finns who scored one in the opening minute of the game and another at the 31-minute mark on the powerplay.
Mikael Seppälä opened the scoring for the home team in a period that saw Tappara take control from start to finish. Zug had a few solid chances in the opening minutes of the middle stanza, but that momentum all but evaporated following the Finn’s second goal.
The Swiss continued to try and claw their way back into the game in the third, controlling the puck for long stretches and upping their shot totals. But as time wound down, Zug were simply trying to mitigate the damage done, with the visitors aiming to limit more potential goals against them that could come back to bite them next week, while Tappara felt comfortable with their two-goal lead.
As the two prepare for their Return Game, Zug have some work ahead of them, mainly when it comes to discipline. The Swiss side struggled to keep all their players on the ice throughout the game, picking up 12 penalty minutes to Tappara's six.
If Zug hope to continue their run to the Final, they’ll need to limit their opponents' powerplay time and find a way to solve the opposing netminder.
To that end, Tappara's Christian Heljanko, who has been nominated for the 2022/23 LGT MVP Award, was outstanding, stopping all 21 shots en route to his fourth shutout of the season. If he can continue his excellent play, Tappara could well be on their way to their second consecutive Final. However, just defending the lead is not the way Tappara are looking to play in Switzerland.
"We do have a lead but we need to play like it's 0-0 and attack, not just defend,” explained Ojamäki after last week's game.