Last night Maple Leafs prospect Fabrice Herzog and the Zurich Lions became the 2016 Swiss Cup champions.
The Swiss Cup is a trophy awarded to the top club team in Switzerland, and is a single elimination tournament spread out over the course of the hockey season. 32 teams total are invited to play, 12 from the NLA, 10 from the NLB, and 10 from the 1st level of Liga. Kind of a NHL/AHL/ECHL tournament but not really because the leagues are divided by relegation/promotion, than by development cycle.
The Swiss Cup was originally played from 1957-66. it was revived last year and SC Bern won the championships.
Here's the google translated way of qualifying from the official Swiss Cup site:
In addition to the National League clubs, currently 22 in number (LN 12 A, 10 B LN), 10 clubs in the League Regio (1st League) participate in the Swiss Ice Hockey Cup. 1st League teams determine the 10 or 9 participants at 1st League qualifying matches (2 rounds). The winners of the 2nd round and the Swiss Amateur Champion qualified for the SIHC. If the Swiss amateur champion has already qualified, the best ranked team after the final round for the title of the first Swiss league champion will participate in the Cup. Otherwise, a draw among the losers of the second qualifying round will be made.
Easy right?
Anyway, Zurich qualified and won every game on their way to the finals, with no less than a +2 goal differential. Below are the scores for Zurich's run Fabrice Herzog's points, remember he was injured through parts of the season as well:
EHC Chur Capricorns 2 - Zurich 9 0G, 2A
Zurich 4 - SCL Tigers 2 No Points
Zurich 5 - HC Ambri-Piotta 2 No Points
SC Bern 3 - Zurich 5 No Points
Lausanne HC 1 - Zurich 4 No Points
The Lions have former NHLers David Runblad and Marc-Andre Bergeron as well as top prospect Auston Matthews:
The Zurich Lions will take this championship and use it to keep powering through the NLA ranks on their way to a second championship of the season.
