Draft:2024–25 National League (ice hockey) season


2024–25 National League season
LeagueNational League
SportIce hockey
DurationSeptember 17, 2024 – April, 2025
Number of games52
Number of teams14
Regular season
Playoffs
Swiss champion NL
National League seasons
2025–26 →

The 2024–25 National League season is the 87th season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the eigth season as the National League (NL).

The ZSC Lions are the defending champion. 4 teams from the NL are also playing in the Champions Hockey League (CHL), those teams being the ZSC lions, HC Fribourg-Gottéron, Lausanne HC and Genève-Servette HC.[1]

The teams did not change from the 2023-24 season as no relegation match was played because HC La Chaux-de-Fonds, the winner of the Swiss League, does not meet the requirements to play in the NL. [2]

Teams

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Team City Arena Capacity
HC Ajoie Porrentruy Raiffeisen Arena 5,078
HC Ambrì-Piotta Ambrì Gottardo Arena 6,775
SC Bern Bern PostFinance Arena 17,031
EHC Biel Biel/Bienne Tissot Arena 6,562
HC Davos Davos Eisstadion Davos 6,547
Fribourg-Gottéron Fribourg BCF Arena 9,075
Genève-Servette HC Geneva Patinoire des Vernets 7,135
EHC Kloten Kloten Stimo Arena 7,624
Lausanne HC Lausanne Vaudoise Aréna 9,600
HC Lugano Lugano Cornèr Arena 7,800
SCL Tigers Langnau im Emmental Ilfis Stadium 6,000
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers Rapperswil St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena 6,100
ZSC Lions Zürich Swiss Life Arena 12,000
EV Zug Zug Bossard Arena 7,200

Regular season

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During the regular season, teams gain 3 points for a win in regulation time, 2 for a win in overtime, 1 for a loss in overtime, and none for a loss in regulation.

Standings

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The standings of the National League as of December 2, 2024. Playoff / Play-In / Playout qualifications are not final.[3]

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 HC Davos 26 14 4 3 5 88 58 +30 53 Advance to Playoffs
2 ZSC Lions 24 12 7 2 3 78 47 +31 52
3 SC Bern 27 12 2 8 5 89 70 +19 48
4 Lausanne HC 26 12 4 2 8 81 79 +2 46
5 EV Zug 26 12 2 1 11 86 70 +16 41
6 EHC Kloten 26 10 5 1 10 66 68 −2 41
7 EHC Biel 26 9 3 4 10 57 57 0 37 Advance to Play-In
8 HC Fribourg-Gottéron 26 9 1 5 11 64 73 −9 34
9 Genève-Servette HC 23 7 4 4 8 68 66 +2 33
10 SCL Tigers 24 8 3 2 11 55 58 −3 32
11 HC Ambrì-Piotta 25 4 7 6 8 69 83 −14 32
12 SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers 26 7 3 5 11 66 80 −14 32
13 HC Lugano 24 9 0 2 13 62 82 −20 29 Advance to Playout
14 HC Ajoie 25 5 2 2 16 60 98 −38 21
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points per game 2) greater number of games played 3) greater number of away games played 4) head-to-head points

Postseason

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At the end of the regular season, the 6 teams with the most points advance to the playoffs, the next 4 advance to the play-ins for a chance to qualify to the playoffs. The 2 teams with the least point go to the playouts. The loser of the series has to face the winner of the Swiss League and are relegated to the Swiss League if they lose (the winning team being promoted).

Play-in stage

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Each round of the play-ins is played in 2 matches, one at each team's home arena, using aggregate scoring (the winner is defined by the total score of the 2 matches). The games are only played on regulation time (no overtime). If the total score at the end of regulation of the second match is even, endless overtime is played. The first game is played at the home arena of the team with the lowest regular season ranking.

In the first round, the 7th seed faces the 8th and the 9th faces the 10th. The winner of the match between the 7th and 8th qualifies for the playoffs and faces the 2nd in the general ranking. The loser faces the winner of the match between 9th and 10th in the second round. The winner of the second round qualifies for the playoffs and faces the 1st in the general ranking. [4]

Round 1Round 2Final Seeds
7No. 7 Seed
8No. 8 Seed
9
10

Playoffs

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The playoffs are played in a single elimination bracket, each round being a best of seven. The seeding is decided based on the regular season for the 6 first teams, the 7th and 8th coming from the play-ins. The teams play every other game at their home arena, the team with the higher regular season ranking getting the advantage for the first game.

References

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  1. ^ "CHL teams". Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  2. ^ "GCK Lions advance to the finals, no Playout/League qualification to take place". Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Standings" (in French). Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Tournament rulebook" (in French). Retrieved 3 December 2024.