EV Zug made short work of TPS Turku in their first go-around, a 4-0 victory that saw the Swiss claim their second win and Turku suffer their first loss. More recently, a close contest in Switzerland resulted in Zug overcoming Grizzlys Wolfsburg in OT by a final of 4-3, while Turku grabbed their second win of the season 4-2 against a struggling Olimpija Ljubljana.

So far, the Swiss are two points above Turku in the standings and another win against the Finns could very well solidify their place there. Helping their cause are Lino Martschini (2G,2A) and Niklas Hansson (1G,5A) who lead the team in scoring, but it’s the contributions from up and down the line-up that are making a difference for Zug. In their recent match-up against Wolfsburg, Dario Simion stepped up and led his team to victory, striking in the first and then delivering the OT winner.

On the opposite side, Turku have shown flashes of brilliance and lapses in thinking. In their recent bout with Ljubljana, the Finnish side found themselves down early but battled back in the second, scoring three goals to take the lead and eventually the match. Zug, however, were a different story as Turku got off to a solid start but once the momentum swung in the direction of the Swiss it stayed there.

For Turku to overcome their Group B rivals and leapfrog them in the standings, they’ll need to apply pressure early and often. This means generating chances and getting shots to the net. The Finns currently only have seven goals for but have eight goals against. This narrative needs to change and addressing the special teams could help in that regard.