2011–12 NLA season facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 2011–12 National League A season |
|
|---|---|
| League | National League A |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of games | 50 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Regular Season | |
| Best Record | EV Zug |
| Runners-up | HC Davos |
| Top scorer | Damien Brunner (EV Zug) |
| Playoffs | |
| Semi-final #1 champions | ZSC Lions |
| Semi-final #1 runners-up | EV Zug |
| Semi-final #2 champions | SC Bern |
| Semi-final #2 runners-up | Fribourg-Gottéron |
| National League A Championship | |
| [[|National League A Championship]] champions | ZSC Lions |
| Runners-up | SC Bern |
| NLA seasons | |
|
← 2010–11 |
2012–13 → |
The 2011–12 National League A season was an exciting ice hockey season in Switzerland. It was the fifth season of the National League A since the league was reorganized. Twelve teams competed to become the champion. In the end, EV Zug finished first in the regular season.
Contents
Regular Season Highlights
How Teams Ranked: Standings
The regular season is where all the teams play each other to earn points. The teams with the most points get the best spots for the playoffs. Here's how the teams finished:
| Rank | Team | Games Played | Wins | Overtime Wins | Overtime Losses | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | EV Zug | 50 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 173 | 131 | 98 |
| 2. | HC Davos | 50 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 155 | 117 | 98 |
| 3. | Fribourg-Gottéron | 50 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 156 | 120 | 94 |
| 4. | Kloten Flyers | 50 | 27 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 158 | 117 | 91 |
| 5. | SC Bern | 50 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 153 | 130 | 87 |
| 6. | HC Lugano | 50 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 152 | 150 | 79 |
| 7. | ZSC Lions | 50 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 136 | 129 | 77 |
| 8. | EHC Biel | 50 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 114 | 128 | 68 |
| 9. | Genève-Servette HC | 50 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 117 | 126 | 67 |
| 10. | SCL Tigers | 50 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 124 | 166 | 52 |
| 11. | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 50 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 102 | 153 | 49 |
| 12. | Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 50 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 99 | 172 | 40 |
Who Scored the Most Points?
Damien Brunner from EV Zug was the top scorer in the regular season. He had an amazing 60 points!
| Player Name | Team | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Damien Brunner |
EV Zug | 45 | 24 | 36 | 60 |
| Julien Sprunger |
HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 49 | 27 | 24 | 51 |
 Jaroslav Bednar |
HC Lugano | 45 | 16 | 34 | 50 |
| Petr Sykora |
HC Davos | 46 | 21 | 28 | 49 |
 Jeff Tambellini |
ZSC Lions | 50 | 23 | 22 | 45 |
| Simon Gamache |
HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 50 | 20 | 25 | 45 |
 Tommi Santala |
Kloten Flyers | 47 | 9 | 35 | 44 |
| Byron Ritchie |
SC Bern | 47 | 22 | 21 | 43 |
| Benny Plüss |
HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 48 | 15 | 27 | 42 |
| Kurtis McLean |
SCL Tigers | 49 | 14 | 28 | 42 |
Playoffs: The Battle for the Championship
After the regular season, the top teams entered the playoffs. This is a knockout tournament where teams play a series of games. The first team to win four games in a series moves on.
Playoff Bracket
This chart shows how the teams battled it out in the playoffs. The winner of each match-up moved closer to the championship!
| Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | EV Zug | 4 | |||||||||||
| 8 | EHC Biel | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | EV Zug | 0 | |||||||||||
| 7 | ZSC Lions | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | HC Davos | 0 | |||||||||||
| 7 | ZSC Lions | 4 | |||||||||||
| (Pairings are re-seeded after the first round) | 5 | SC Bern | 3 | ||||||||||
| 7 | ZSC Lions | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Fribourg | 4 | |||||||||||
| 6 | HC Lugano | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Fribourg | 1 | |||||||||||
| 5 | SC Bern | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Kloten Flyers | 1 | |||||||||||
| 5 | SC Bern | 4 | |||||||||||
Quarter-Finals: Who Made it Through?
The first round of the playoffs saw some exciting games.
- EV Zug (1st seed) played against EHC Biel (8th seed). EV Zug won the series 4-1.
- HC Davos (2nd seed) faced ZSC Lions (7th seed). The ZSC Lions won all four games, winning the series 4-0.
- Fribourg-Gottéron (3rd seed) played against HC Lugano (6th seed). Fribourg-Gottéron won the series 4-2.
- Kloten Flyers (4th seed) battled SC Bern (5th seed). SC Bern won the series 4-1.
Semi-Finals: The Road to the Finals
Next, the winning teams moved on to the semi-finals.
- EV Zug (1st seed) played against ZSC Lions (7th seed). The ZSC Lions continued their strong play, winning the series 4-0.
- Fribourg-Gottéron (3rd seed) faced SC Bern (5th seed). SC Bern won the series 4-1.
Finals: The Championship Showdown
The final series was between SC Bern and ZSC Lions. It was a very close series that went all the way to a seventh game! In the end, the ZSC Lions won the championship, beating SC Bern 4-3 in the series.
Playouts: Fighting to Stay in the League
The teams that didn't make the playoffs had to play in a special tournament called the Playouts. The goal of the Playouts is to avoid being the worst team. The team that loses the Playouts has to play against the champion of the league below (National League B) to see if they get to stay in the National League A next season.
Playout Bracket
This bracket shows how the bottom teams battled to stay in the top league.
| Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||
| 9 | Genève | 1 | |||||||
| 12 | Lakers | 4 | |||||||
| 11 | Genève | 4 | |||||||
| 12 | Ambrì-Piotta | 0 | |||||||
| 10 | SCL Tigers | 4 | |||||||
| 11 | Ambrì-Piotta | 0 | |||||||
Playout Results
- In the semi-finals of the Playouts:
- Rapperswil-Jona Lakers beat Genève-Servette HC 4-1.
- SCL Tigers beat HC Ambrì-Piotta 4-0.
- In the Playout finals, Genève-Servette HC played against HC Ambrì-Piotta. Genève-Servette HC won the series 4-0.
Playdowns: Staying in the League
Because HC Ambrì-Piotta lost the Playouts, they had to play in the Playdowns. This meant they faced SC Langenthal, the champions of the National League B. Ambrì-Piotta won this series 4-1, which meant they got to stay in the National League A for the next season!
