Switzerland eliminated in loss to USA

Disappointing end to the IIHF World Championship in Finland for Nico and the Swiss national team. Taking on team USA in quarterfinal action, Switzerland lost by a score of 0-3 and thus were eliminated from the tournament at this stage in for the third year in a row.

Naturally, Nico couldn’t hide his disappointment in a post-game interview with Switzerland’s SRF:

“First and foremost, I am disappointment and maybe also a bit frustrated. It’s not the first time, where we are in this situation and we have to find a way to win these games going forward.

We were close and I believe in our team. But we were in a bit of a shock after conceding the first two goals and didn’t find our rhythm until the second period. It wasn’t the first time that we started out poorly.

We will get another crack at this in the future, of that I am certain. And we have proven that we can beat good teams. But it’s simple: It’s win or go home at the quarterfinal stage and we lost. I wish we could try again but that’s not how this works. We’ve got to live with this now.”

Following last night’s defeat, the Swiss will fly back home today. Nico finished his third World Championship tournament at a plus-1 with 5 goals and 3 assists. He also scored in Switzerland’s shootout win over Germany.

(Photo: SIHF / Jonathan Vallat)