The Swiss have never won the IIHF World Championship but they have a chance to change that tomorrow. For the first time since 2018, Switzerland has advanced to the gold-medal game after a 3-2 shootout win in the semifinals over Canada. Ten members of the 2018 team that lost the final in a shootout against Sweden – including defenseman Roman Josi – are back for another crack at it.
“We came here with a clear goal and I’ve felt like we’ve kept growing as a team,” said Josi, the Swiss captain. “You saw it tonight, and even against Germany (in the quarterfinal), it’s a complete team effort. Our defense is really good, everybody blocks shots, everybody goes to the hard areas, and that’s how we win games and we’ve got to keep it up.”
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What can you say about Leonardo Genoni – 36 and still playing like that?
“He’s amazing. Every Worlds I play with him, he’s clutch – he’s an amazing goalie.”
Why isn’t he playing in the NHL?
“Good question. You know what? I’ve been saying that about him for a long time. I don’t know how he was never in the NHL because every World Championship, he’s one of the best goalies and he’s won about 10 titles in Switzerland. I don’t want to make him feel bad but he definitely should have been in the NHL.”
Is it more fun playing with Kevin Fiala than against him?
“Yeah, definitely! He was great again. The way he plays, he’s so skilled, he’s amazing on the power play. Ever since he came, you know, he was a little bit late and it’s not easy. He just had a kid. Then to come here, jet-lagged, and play like that for the whole tournament is pretty cool.”
It seemed like two different games – the first period and then the next two. What was the difference?
“The power play was great in the first, and I thought we played good in the second too – they scored one, obviously. After that, we kinda sat back a little bit but, also, you’re playing Canada. They’ve got some great weapons, some great offense, so we just defended really hard and Leo made some amazing saves. Of course, you want to have a little bit more pressure when you have the lead but it’s not easy against teams like that.”
Were there any nerves on the bench when the game went to overtime?
“No, I thought we handled it pretty well. Obviously, they got some looks on their power play. They had 5-on-4 and then 4-on-3, but we did a great job killing it. And OT is always a lot of back-and-forth but we ended up winning, which is great.”
What will make the difference tomorrow?
“Details again. We’re playing the Czechs at home. They’re great team, they’ve brought some great players over. We’ve got to get some rest tonight and find our focus again tomorrow. But also enjoy it – it’s the final so it’s gonna be a ton of fun.”