2018–19 NL 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
LeagueNational League
SportIce hockey
DurationSeptember 21, 2018 – March 4, 2019
Number of games50
Number of teams12
Regular season
Best recordSC Bern
Runners-upEV Zug
Season MVPDominik Kubalík
(HC Ambrì-Piotta)
Top scorerDominik Kubalík
(HC Ambrì-Piotta)
Playoffs
Semi-Final championsSC Bern
  Semi-Final runners-upEHC Biel
Semi-Final championsEV Zug
  Semi-Final runners-upLausanne HC
Swiss champion NL
ChampionsSC Bern
  Runners-upEV Zug

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]

Teams
NL teams for the 2018–19 season
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

Regular season
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
Source: NLA
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:
  1. Relegation Playoffs

Player statistics

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 KubalíkHC Ambrì-Piotta50253257+518
Mark ArcobelloSC Bern49213253+2079
Grégory HofmannHC Lugano50302151+1524
Toni RajalaEHC Biel50272148+836
Dustin JeffreyLausanne HC44153146+910
Chris DiDomenicoSCL Tigers48103646+5134
Lino MartschiniEV Zug50222244+146
Harri PesonenSCL Tigers50212243+140
Dominic ZwergerHC Ambrì-Piotta49172542-630
Raffaele SannitzHC Lugano48112940+1164

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

Playoffs
  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  
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round)   1 SC Bern 4
  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  

Relegation playoffs – Playouts

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
Source: NLA
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]

References
  1. "Confirmed - Langenthal will not play the League Qualification". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. "Player stats" (in German). SIHF.ch. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  3. "Goalie stats" (in German). SIHF.ch. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  4. "Playout final" (in German). SIHF.ch. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  5. "SC Langenthal wins Championship, Rapperswil and Davos safe?". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  6. "Confirmed - Langenthal will not play the League Qualification". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
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