2018–19_NL_season
2018–19 National League (ice hockey) season
Sports season
The 2018–19 National League season was the 81st season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the second season as the National League (NL).
| 2018–19 National League season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | September 21, 2018 – March 4, 2019 |
| Number of games | 50 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Regular season | |
| Best record | SC Bern |
| Runners-up | EV Zug |
| Season MVP | Dominik Kubalík (HC Ambrì-Piotta) |
| Top scorer | Dominik Kubalík (HC Ambrì-Piotta) |
| Playoffs | |
| Semi-Final champions | SC Bern |
| Semi-Final runners-up | EHC Biel |
| Semi-Final champions | EV Zug |
| Semi-Final runners-up | Lausanne HC |
| Swiss champion NL | |
| Champions | SC Bern |
| Runners-up | EV Zug |
| National League seasons | |
ZSC Lions were the defending Swiss national champions, however missed the playoffs altogether.
SC Bern won the regular season for a third consecutive year, and went on to defeat regular season runners-up EV Zug in the playoff finals 4–1 to claim their 16th Swiss championship, and third in four years.
The qualification series between SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and SC Langenthal was not played, due to SC Langenthal's home arena not meeting NL requirements, therefore SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers would remain in the NL for the 2019–20 season.[1]
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| HC Ambrì-Piotta | Ambrì | Valascia | 6,500 |
| SC Bern | Bern | PostFinance-Arena | 17,031 |
| EHC Biel | Biel/Bienne | Tissot Arena | 6,521 |
| HC Davos | Davos | Vaillant Arena | 6,800 |
| Fribourg-Gottéron | Fribourg | BCF Arena | 6,500 |
| Genève-Servette HC | Geneva | Patinoire des Vernets | 7,135 |
| Lausanne HC | Lausanne | Temporary Arena | 6,700 |
| HC Lugano | Lugano | Pista La Resega | 7,800 |
| SCL Tigers | Langnau im Emmental | Ilfis Stadium | 6,000 |
| SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | Rapperswil | Diners Club Arena | 6,200 |
| ZSC Lions | Zürich | Hallenstadion | 11,200 |
| EV Zug | Zug | Bossard Arena | 7,200 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC Bern | 50 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 143 | 99 | +44 | 101 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | EV Zug | 50 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 159 | 115 | +44 | 97 | |
| 3 | Lausanne HC | 50 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 141 | 126 | +15 | 82 | |
| 4 | EHC Biel | 50 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 149 | 138 | +11 | 79 | |
| 5 | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 50 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 138 | 140 | −2 | 79 | |
| 6 | SCL Tigers | 50 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 132 | 126 | +6 | 78 | |
| 7 | HC Lugano | 50 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 160 | 141 | +19 | 78 | |
| 8 | Genève-Servette HC | 50 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 137 | 150 | −13 | 75 | |
| 9 | ZSC Lions | 50 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 129 | 132 | −3 | 74 | Advance to Playouts[lower-alpha 1] |
| 10 | Fribourg-Gottéron | 50 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 125 | 125 | 0 | 74 | |
| 11 | HC Davos | 50 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 121 | 167 | −46 | 51 | |
| 12 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 50 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 37 | 92 | 167 | −75 | 32 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) higher number of points earned in games between the tied teams; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored; 5) goal difference in games between the tied teams; 6) number of goals scored in games between the tied teams; 7) higher number of away goals scored; 8) higher number of away goals scored in games between the tied teams; 9) NL committee decision. Rules
Notes:
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[2] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominik Kubalík | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 50 | 25 | 32 | 57 | +5 | 18 |
| Mark Arcobello | SC Bern | 49 | 21 | 32 | 53 | +20 | 79 |
| Grégory Hofmann | HC Lugano | 50 | 30 | 21 | 51 | +15 | 24 |
| Toni Rajala | EHC Biel | 50 | 27 | 21 | 48 | +8 | 36 |
| Dustin Jeffrey | Lausanne HC | 44 | 15 | 31 | 46 | +9 | 10 |
| Chris DiDomenico | SCL Tigers | 48 | 10 | 36 | 46 | +5 | 134 |
| Lino Martschini | EV Zug | 50 | 22 | 22 | 44 | +14 | 6 |
| Harri Pesonen | SCL Tigers | 50 | 21 | 22 | 43 | +1 | 40 |
| Dominic Zwerger | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 49 | 17 | 25 | 42 | -6 | 30 |
| Raffaele Sannitz | HC Lugano | 48 | 11 | 29 | 40 | +11 | 64 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.[3]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | WO | LO | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo Genoni | SC Bern | 43 | 2499 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 77 | 10 | .933 | 1.85 |
| Reto Berra | Fribourg-Gottéron | 45 | 2632 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 97 | 3 | .920 | 2.21 |
| Tobias Stephan | EV Zug | 36 | 2050 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 76 | 5 | .925 | 2.22 |
| Sandro Zurkirchen | Lausanne HC | 36 | 2166 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 82 | 2 | .927 | 2.27 |
| Niklas Schlegel | ZSC Lions | 26 | 1413 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 56 | 3 | .914 | 2.38 |
| Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | SC Bern | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Genève-Servette HC | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | SC Bern | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | EHC Biel | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | EHC Biel | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | SC Bern | 4 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | EV Zug | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | EV Zug | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | HC Lugano | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | EV Zug | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Lausanne HC | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Lausanne HC | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | SCL Tigers | 3 | ||||||||||||
Ranking round
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fribourg-Gottéron | 56 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 146 | 138 | +8 | 87 |
| 2 | ZSC Lions | 56 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 23 | 141 | 152 | −11 | 82 |
| 3 | HC Davos | 56 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 135 | 185 | −50 | 54 |
| 4 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 56 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 108 | 179 | −71 | 44 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) higher number of points earned in games between the tied teams; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored; 5) goal difference in games between the tied teams; 6) number of goals scored in games between the tied teams; 7) higher number of away goals scored; 8) higher number of away goals scored in games between the tied teams; 9) NL committee decision. Rules
Playout final
HC Davos 4–1 SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers (3–2, 5–3, 2–3, 5–3, 3–1) [4]
League Qualification
2018–19 Swiss League champions SC Langenthal's home arena Schoren Halle did not comply with the National League's requirements, and if promoted they would therefore have had to play their home games at an alternative arena. Initially SC Langenthal announced that they would still play the league qualification despite not intending to gain promotion.[5] However on April 5, SC Langenthal announced that they would not be contesting the League Qualification, meaning SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers would remain in the National League for the 2019–20 season.[6]
- "Confirmed - Langenthal will not play the League Qualification". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- "Player stats" (in German). SIHF.ch. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- "Goalie stats" (in German). SIHF.ch. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- "Playout final" (in German). SIHF.ch. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- "SC Langenthal wins Championship, Rapperswil and Davos safe?". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- "Confirmed - Langenthal will not play the League Qualification". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- Official website (in German)
- Official website (in French)