Dear Fans,
First, I would like to thank the President of HC La Chaux-de-Fonds, Mr. Alain Dubois for the warm reception we received for the Swiss Cup game, that we started last Tuesday and finished Wednesday night!
We played our first round of the Cup against the 1st League team Guin, an LNB team HC Chaux-de-Fonds for our 2nd round, and we found out at yesterday's draw that on Tuesday November 22 we play LNA team HC Davos in Geneva for our quarter-final round - note it in your diary!
We have been privileged this season to experience the true spirit of Cup games. Guin chose their Cup game against us to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Their rink was full with fans hoping for a miracle and celebrating their team for the whole game even as the score quickly became one-sided. La Chaux-de-Fonds fans came out in numbers to watch what was once a heated rivalry in the 1960s and 1970s when HC La Chaux-de-Fonds was Swiss Champion 6 years in a row! The atmosphere in the rink was incredible as their fans believed in an upset until the very end, game that was decided in our favour on penalty shots!
There is some debate as to whether the Swiss Cup is important. We clearly support it as it provides lower league teams and their fans an opportunity to play and watch LNA teams in their rink, and it gives all and smaller budget LNA teams and LNB and 1st League teams an opportunity to win a one-off game and even to dream of winning the Cup. The more Cups the better! We are very proud of our Spengler Cups and want to win more trophies. Winning the LNA playoffs for the first time in Geneva’s history being our number 1 priority!
We are moving forward with the new rink project as we continue to work closely with the government on a detailed plan that we hope to be able to communicate before the end of the season, most importantly with a date it will be ready for you to watch our first game in! We have a great team of local architect and real estate project partners, long time loyal fans of the club and well known and respected members of the Geneva community Jean-Noel de Giuli and Jean-Claude Portier of de Giuli Portier Architectes, and François Dieu of Créateurs Immobiliers.
Jean-Francois Garneau, a French Canadian who has been living in Geneva for many years has joined the new rink project team. Jean-Francois was involved in designing and building the replacement for the Montreal Forum - the Bell Center as it is known today - then was employed by the Montreal Canadiens to operate it. Jean-Francois is an example of the incredible human resources we have in Geneva and who with Jean-Noel, Jean-Claude, and Francois - represent the Genève International that combines locals with expats. His experience and contacts, working closely with Peter and Michael Gall and the investor group, and with our local team, will be invaluable as we aim to make this project one of the very best in the world for our fans and for the Geneva community.
I would like to congratulate all our Association Genève Futur Hockey players who have been selected to represent their national teams in tournaments to be held around the world next week during the national team break. 16 of our academy players selected! The future is indeed bright for GSHC!
Congratulations to:
Louis Benoit, Steve Burgener, Stephan Charlin, Joakim Da Silva, Noah Etter, Enzo Guebey, Stéphane Patry, Arnaud Riat, Denis Smirnovs, Sandis Smons, Jesse Tanner, Evan Testaz, Thomas Thiry, Matthew Verboon, Mathieu Vouillamoz, David Zeiter
Thank you once again to Andy Foliot, Laurent Pechkranz, and all the coaches, support staff, and the volunteers who are making our academy stronger and stronger each season. And congratulations and a big thank you to all the parents of the players!
I would also like to congratulate Noah Rod and Jeremy Wick for their first selections to the Swiss National Team. They will be joining Romain Loeffel and Robert Mayer in Germany as they play against Germany, Canada and Slovakia next week.
See you on Saturday at Les Vernets as we try to start the 10 day break with a win against Lugano! Come early to enjoy our outdoor entertainment starting at 18h15, and families bring your children so they can have fun with our free face painting, balloons and other entertainment before our exciting game begins!
Thank you again for your loyal and continued support, you are valued members of the GSHC family.
Ensemble, Toujours!
Hugh Quennec
President
h.quennec@gshc.ch