EHC Biel-Bienne, coached by Antti Törmänen, is chasing its first Swiss championship in 40 years. The team leads the final series against Geneva with a 2–1 victory.
Finnish coach Antti Törmänen piloted by EHC Biel-Bienne is playing for the championship of the Swiss Hockey League. It leads the final series against Geneve-Servette HC with a 2–1 victory. On Thursday evening, the teams will meet in the fourth final in Biel/Bienne. Four wins are required for the championship.
The attacker, who is already in his seventh season in the team Toni Rajala with his eight goals and three assists, is his team’s most effective player. The 32-year-old Rajala has scored more goals than any other player in this spring’s playoffs.
– I can play with a flame helmet on, which means that it has gone well. But I’m still trying to improve on this. There are a few games left, a maximum of four games left this season. I’m trying to put everything in and score a little more goals for the team. If only we could use it to lift a jug, Rajala says.
Biel has picked up important wins in the playoffs, although after the quarter-final series at the end of March, the team got some bad news. Head coach Törmänen, 52, received a new cancer diagnosis. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, but recovered and returned to coach Biel.
– It was sad news to hear. But you can see that the team has welded together even more since then, says Rajala.
According to Rajala, Törmänen has been involved in the team’s activities almost every day in recent weeks. Only a few practices and one match have been missed due to doctor visits. According to Rajala, the team’s everyday life has largely returned to the old pattern.
– Antti has been really cheerful and quite normal. We have been able to focus on hockey. Let’s play this season and wish Anti the best for his own fight after this, says Rajala.
The fan culture is unparalleled
Rajala says that Törmäsen has played an important role in the background of the team’s success and in raising the collective spirit. When Törmänen started as Biel’s head coach in December 2017, Rajala played his second season in the team.
– I have liked playing under Antti. He has brought a lot of good stuff to the game.
– When I came here, the team had always been among the last in the series. Then they set out to rebuild the entire organization. A new hall was built. The organization has progressed year by year, Rajala says.
French- and German-speaking Biel/Bienne has a population of 55,000 and is located in the canton of Bern in northwestern Switzerland. The fans of the city’s ice hockey team have been able to celebrate the championship for the last time in 1983. According to Rajala, the end of the 40-year wait is at least not due to the fan culture.
– Here in the city there is a good boom and good fans. The tickets for these first two home games were all sold out in three minutes. There has been a carnival atmosphere in the finals and not a second is quiet. Here in Central Europe, the fan culture is a bit ahead of Finland. Here we jump and clap all the time.
Rajala still has one year left on his contract. Eight years in the same club is a long time, but Rajala is not longing to go elsewhere.
– Let’s hope that we can fill up ten here, says the puck player from Parkano.
Rajala has won two world championships (2019 and 2022) and Olympic gold in Leijon. Now he is fully focused on the finals in Switzerland, but the World Championships in Tampere in May are of interest.
– I would say that I am available (for the World Championships) if there are no injuries here. There is still energy in the body. However, there may be four tough games ahead, so anything can happen. But I will go if the invitation comes, says Rajala.