Full steam ahead to the final: Zug defeats the Eisbären Berlin

The 20th edition of the Dolomiten Cup is approaching its grand finale: EV Zug secured their place in the final with a 2-0 victory against the German champions from Berlin. They will face HC Kometa in the final on Sunday.

August 22, 2026

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A touch of top-level international ice hockey filled the packed Würtharena on Saturday afternoon. In the second Dolomiten Cup semi-final, EV Zug faced off against the Eisbären Berlin. In the end, the favorites prevailed: Jacob Moverare and Chris Egli scored to give Zug a 2-0 lead, which Swiss national goaltender Leonardo Genoni ultimately secured with a shutout.

On the second matchday, the spotlight initially belonged to the fans: Supporters from both sides loudly cheered on their ice hockey heroes, with the Swiss section even displaying a specially prepared choreography. Down on the ice, both teams cautiously felt each other out for a long time – before Zug suddenly got going. After some early dangerous warning shots from Gregory Hofmann & Co., the puck finally found the back of the net in the 13th minute. Jacob Moverare, whom EVZ only acquired from Los Angeles this summer, took advantage of a scramble in front of the opposing goal to somehow flick the puck past Eisbären goalie Jack Lafontaine from a sharp angle.

Leonardo Genoni simply holds everything

Zug's opening goal initially proved less than ideal for the rest of the game. The favorites from Central Switzerland eased off the gas in the second period, while the Eisbären, although they dominated possession, failed to create any clear-cut scoring opportunities – partly because the offensive mechanisms of the DEL club's first preseason game weren't quite clicking at times. And even when the German champions did manage to break through the defense, there was always Genoni. The Zug goaltending legend stopped everything that even came close to his net.

And what did Genoni's teammates do? They waited patiently until the Polar Bears' period of sustained pressure subsided and then struck with ruthless efficiency. With one minute remaining, Chris Egli finished off a counterattack into the empty net to make it 2-0. That was the final score of the second semifinal game.

The new Dolomitencup champion will be crowned on Sunday. At 8 p.m., the top Czech club HC Kometa will play against Zug for the tournament victory, while in the afternoon (3:45 p.m.) Augsburg and Berlin will face each other in an all-German duel for third place.