Griezītis begins season with tight win in Swiss floorball league
In the opening round of the Swiss Premier League, Gustavs Griezītis's team won in overtime, while several other matches produced surprises and high-scoring results.
In the opening round of the Swiss LIDL Unihockey Premier League, defending champions "HC Rychenberg Winterthur", featuring Latvian player Gustavs Griezītis, beat "Grasshopper Club Zurich" 3:2 in overtime at home in Zurich. The home side took an early lead, but the visitors doubled it before the hosts equalized in the second half of the match. The winning goal came from a precise long-range shot just before the end of regulation time. Griezītis did not register any points in the match.
Meanwhile, Griezītis's team from last season, "Kloten-Dietikon Jets" — coached by Latvia's national team head coach Heiki Lūkonen — suffered a 2:4 home defeat against last season's bottom-placed team "WaSa St.Gallen" after returning to the top division following a lengthy absence. The home team fell behind early, later equalized, but the visitors pulled ahead decisively in the third period.
Other round matches
The champions of the past two seasons, "Zug United", convincingly beat last season's cup winners "Floorball Thurgau" 9:6, scoring several empty-net goals along the way. Justus Kainulainens was the match's top scorer with two goals and two assists.
In a derby between "Tigers Langnau" and "Floorball Koniz Bern", the home side won 4:3, scoring the decisive goal ten minutes before the end of regulation. In a neighboring-club clash between "UHC Alligator Malans" and "Floorball Chur United", the hosts won 5:3 after their captain scored twice in the final seconds of regulation, the second into an empty net.
The round's final match, between "SV Wiler-Ersigen" and "UHC Uster" — featuring Latvians Pēteris Trekše and Daniels Jānis Anis — will be played on September 20.
