The first two Lake Geneva derbies in the championship had turned to the advantage of the LHC. Two one-goal victories (2-1 and 3-2) which showed that the two teams were closer than the National League rankings would have you believe.
Only during this first European evening, the Genevans clearly made the difference. Starting with the end of the first period. Exactly ten seconds from the end, Manninen took advantage of a great action initiated by Hartikainen to open the scoring. Number 70 found Granlund for a clever deflection into Manninen’s slot.
Difficult for the Vaudois to rail against this goal, given the number of opportunities the Genevans had during the first twenty minutes. Without Kevin Pasche in charge, the Garnet’s first goal would have fallen much earlier. In the 17th minute, Manninen, already himself, broke his teeth on Pasche after a mix-up in the Vaudois defense and while the Lions were in numerical superiority.
Everything could (and should) have changed in the 23rd when Roger Karrer made a nasty charge at the head of Jason Fuchs, back after a few weeks in the infirmary. Except that this five-minute penalty combined with a match misconduct benefited the…Aigles. Marco Miranda found Tanner Richard for a 2-0 shorthanded goal. This goal undermined the morale of the Vaudois who then conceded 3-0 in the 35th minute from the stick of Oula Palve, on loan from Ajoie for a few matches.
Jan Cadieux’s men did not miss the opportunity to drive home the point and offer themselves a “quiet” return match next Wednesday. Granlund’s 4-0 in power play in the 45th minute, then Palve’s 5-0, almost ensures Geneva’s qualification for the rest of the competition. We remind you that Lausanne will have to win with at least a five-goal margin to be entitled to an extension, or by more than five goals to qualify. A highly improbable scenario.
