The playoffs in the U17 Elit and U20 Elit categories kick off on Friday, March 3, and once again this season the two top teams of the Youth Section ofHockey Club Lugano will take part in the decisive phase of the season.
A result that, in light of the HCL's catchment area, cannot and should not be taken for granted. In fact, only six clubs (Zug, Langnau, ZSC Lions/GCK Lions, Kloten, Davos and Lugano) managed to qualify both teams for the playoffs. As a testament to the excellent work done in the nursery bianconero by seven professional coaches and nineteen non-professional coaches.
The U20 Elit, led at the barrier by Paolo Morini and Gianluca Prato after Luca Gianinazzi's move to the first team in October, finished the RS at the second rank. Opponent in the Best of Five quarterfinals will be Kloten with game 1 scheduled at the Cornèr Arena on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m., game 3 to be played on Wednesday, March 8 (7:45 p.m.) and possible game 5 scheduled for Sunday, March 12 (8:15 p.m.).
Krister Cantoni and Christian Stucki's U17 Elit finished the RS in eighth place. They will therefore face in the Best of Five quarterfinals the top-ranked Biel/Bienne with game 2 to be played at Cornèr Arena on Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m. and the eventual game 4 set for Friday, March 10 at 6:45 p.m.