2018–19 SWHL A season

The 2018–19 Swiss League season was the 33th season of the Swiss Women's League A.

2018–19 SWHL A season
League	Swiss Women's League A
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	September 15, 2018 – February 2, 2019
Number of games	60
Number of teams	6
Regular Season
Season Champions	Ladies Team Lugano
Top scorer	Phoebe Stänz
Playoffs
Women's League champion
Champions	Ladies Team Lugano
Runners-up	ZSC Lions Frauen

Teams

Ladies Team Lugano

HC Université Neuchâtel Dames

SC Reinach Damen

EV Bomo Thun

SC Weinfelden Ladies

ZSC Lions Frauen

Swiss League teams for the 2018–19 season

Team	Trainer	City	Arena	Capacity
Ladies Team Lugano	Steve Huard, Nenad Ilic	Lugano	La Resega	7,200
HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	Yan Gigon, Thierry Bourquin	Neuchâtel	Patinoire du Littoral	7,000
SC Reinach Damen	Melanie Häfliger, Simon Theiler	Reinach	Kunsteisbahn Oberwynental	-
EV Bomo Thun	Bruno Allemann	Thun	Kunsteisbahn Grabengut	4,000
SC Weinfelden Ladies	Andrea Kröni	Weinfelden	Güttingersreuti	3,100
ZSC Lions Frauen	Georg Taferner, Diane Michaud	Zürich	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon	1,700

Regular season

The regular season started on 15 September 2018 and ended on 2 February 2019. The SWHL A game mode provides a preliminary round (phase 1) with 10 matches per team and a Masterround with 10 additional matches per team. The top 4 teams qualify for the playoffs and the bottom two compete for a play-off against relegation. The loser must face the SWHLB champion.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ladies Team Lugano	20	16	2	1	1	131	41	+90	53	Advance to Playoffs
2	SC Reinach Damen	20	13	1	1	5	89	45	+44	42
3	ZSC Lions Frauen	20	12	0	3	5	67	47	+20	39
4	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	20	8	1	1	10	54	56	−2	27
5	EV Bomo Thun	20	3	1	1	15	22	100	−78	12
6	SC Weinfelden Ladies	20	1	2	0	17	32	106	−74	7

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) a higher number of wins in the regular time; 3) a higher number of wins in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.^[1] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Phoebe Stänz	Ladies Team Lugano	19	30	22	52	10
Romy Eggimann	Ladies Team Lugano	20	19	31	50	16
Kate Leary	Ladies Team Lugano	20	33	16	49	16
Rahel Enzler	SC Reinach Damen	20	23	24	47	6
Evelina Raselli	SC Reinach Damen	19	18	16	34	30
Dominique Rüegg	ZSC Lions Frauen	20	22	9	31	18
Ophélie Ryser	Ladies Team Lugano	20	20	7	27	14
Simona Grascher	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	20	15	12	27	20
Noemi Ryhner	SC Reinach Damen	20	15	10	25	16
Nina Waidacher	ZSC Lions Frauen	18	9	16	25	28

Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top five goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.^[2]

Player	Team(s)	GP	TOI	GA	GAA
Jade Dübi	Ladies Team Lugano	19	1147	39	2,04
Caroline Baldin	ZSC Lions Frauen	19	1101	39	2,13
Nina Paiva	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	19	1102	49	2,67
Laura De Bastiani	SC Reinach Damen	13	721	35	2,91
Caroline Lambert	SC Weinfelden Ladies	18	987	95	5,78

Playoffs

Bracket

	Semi-finals (best-of-5)					Finals (best-of-5)
	1	Ladies Team Lugano	3
	4	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	1
						1	Ladies Team Lugano	3
						3	ZSC Lions Frauen	0
	2	SC Reinach Damen	1
	3	ZSC Lions Frauen	3			Game for 3rd place (best-of-1)
						2	SC Reinach Damen	1
						4	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	7

Semi-Finals

(1) Ladies Team Lugano vs. (4) HC Université Neuchâtel Dames

16 February	Ladies Team Lugano		3-0		HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	La Resega, Lugano	Recap
Gianettoni (Eggimann, Stänz) (PP2) - 17:41		First period			No scoring
Ryser (Eggimann, Leary) - 39:49		Second period			No scoring
Stänz (Leary) (SH1) - 50:17		Third period			No scoring
Jade Dübi		Goalie stats			Nina Paiva

17 February	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames		1-4		Ladies Team Lugano	Patinoire du Littoral, Neuchâtel	Recap
15:56 - Desvignes (SH1)		First period			Leary - 11:23
No scoring		Second period			Ryser (Escudero, Desboeufs) - 22:06 Stänz (Leary) - 23:01 Escudero (Stänz) - 36:51
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Nina Paiva		Goalie stats			Giulia Mazzocchi

23 February	Ladies Team Lugano		1-2		HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	La Resega, Lugano	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Eggimann (Escudero, Bullo) - 34:19		Second period			32:53 - Grascher (Steele) 34:56 - Steele (Jobin)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Jade Dübi Giulia Mazzocchi		Goalie stats			Nina Paiva

24 February	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames		0-4		Ladies Team Lugano	Patinoire du Littoral, Neuchâtel	Recap
No scoring		First period			Leary (PP1) - 3:15
No scoring		Second period			Stänz (Leary) - 28:10
No scoring		Third period			Stänz (Vallario) - 52:27 Escudero (Orlandini) - 57:30
Nina Paiva		Goalie stats			Jade Dübi

Ladies Team Lugano won the series 3–1.

(2) SC Reinach Damen vs. (3) ZSC Lions Frauen

16 February	SC Reinach Damen		4-5		ZSC Lions Frauen	Kunsteisbahn Oberwynental, Reinach	Recap
10:02 - R. Bräm (Enzler) (PP1)		First period			No scoring
32:41 - Kleeb (Enzler) 37:11 - Enzler (Bräm)		Second period			No scoring
53:32 - Raselli (Enzler)		Third period			Neuenschwander (Schlegel) - 41:57 Hochuli (Christen) - 48:54 Rüegg (N. Waidacher, M. Waidacher) - 53:09 Zimmermann (Fäsch) - 56:24 Hauser (Rüedi, Neuenschwander) (PP1) - 57:53
Vanessa Bolinger		Goalie stats			Caroline Baldin

17 February	ZSC Lions Frauen		1-3		SC Reinach Damen	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
No scoring		First period			C. Bräm (Ryhner) (PP1) - 7:45 C. Bräm (R. Bräm) (PP1) - 12:06
25:26 - N. Waidacher (Punnett)		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			Kleeb (Enzler) - 44:31
Caroline Baldin		Goalie stats			Vanessa Bolinger

23 February	SC Reinach Damen		2-3	2OT	ZSC Lions Frauen	Kunsteisbahn Oberwynental, Reinach	Recap
No scoring		First period			18:10 - N. Waidacher (Zollinger, M. Waidacher)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Enzler (PS) - 58:21 Ryhner (Raselli, C. Bräm) - 59:52		Third period			45:55 - Schlegel (PP1)
No scoring		Second overtime period			Shootout - Rüedi (PS) Shootout - Rüegg (PS)
Vanessa Bolinger		Goalie stats			Caroline Baldin

24 February	ZSC Lions Frauen		2-1	OT	SC Reinach Damen	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
22:37 - Neuenschwander (Schlegel, Benz)		Second period			Raselli (Enzler, C. Bräm) - 28:04
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
74:09 - Rüegg (Punnett)		First overtime period			No scoring
Caroline Baldin		Goalie stats			Vanessa Bolinger

ZSC Lions Frauen won the series 3–1.

Game for 3rd place

3 March	SC Reinach Damen		1-7		HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	Kunsteisbahn Oberwynental, Reinach	Recap
C. Bräm (Enzler) (PP1) - 4:48		First period			6:10 - Grascher (Joray, Graf) 10:58 - Graf (Broad) 12:28 - Grascher (Joray)
No scoring		Second period			27:03 - Joray (Broad) 29:11 - Grascher (Gremaud) 30:08 - Grascher (Desvignes)
No scoring		Third period			53:02 - Jobin (Grascher, Steele)
Laura De Bastiani Vanessa Bolinger		Goalie stats			Nina Paiva

HC Université Neuchâtel Dames won the game and finish at the 3rd place.[3]

Finals

2 March	Ladies Team Lugano		5-2		ZSC Lions Frauen	La Resega, Lugano	Recap
Leary (Stänz) - 10:31		First period			0:49 - Rüegg (N. Waidacher)
No scoring		Second period			21:36 - Rüedi (Rüegg)
Escudero (Stänz, Desboeufs) - 45:22 Escudero (Vallario) - 46:54 Desboeufs (Stänz) - 52:00 Leary (Stänz) (EN) - 59:38		Third period			No scoring
Giulia Mazzocchi		Goalie stats			Caroline Baldin

3 March	ZSC Lions Frauen		2-4		Ladies Team Lugano	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
6:25 - Zimmermann (Fäsch, Hochuli)		First period			Eggimann (Stänz, Poletti) - 9:45
No scoring		Second period			Eggimann (Leary, Bullo) - 30:14 Leary (Eggimann) - 34:43 Eggimann (Stänz) (PP1) - 35:55
46:53 - M. Waidacher (N. Waidacher)		Third period			No scoring
Caroline Baldin		Goalie stats			Giulia Mazzocchi

9 March	Ladies Team Lugano		4-1		ZSC Lions Frauen	La Resega, Lugano	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
26:26 - Desboeufs (Stänz) 36:47 - Poletti (Desboeufs)		Second period			Schlegel (Rüedi) (PP1) - 21:24
45:04 - Stänz (Bullo, Leary) (PP1) 59:57 - Leary		Third period			No scoring
Jade Dübi		Goalie stats			Caroline Baldin

Ladies Team Lugano won the series 3–0.[4][5]

Team of Swiss champions

Goalkeepers: Jade Dübi, Giulia Mazzocchi

Defense: Nicole Bullo, Jasmine Fedulov, Federica Galtieri, Nicla Gianettoni, Emma Montalbetti, Gaia Mottis, Anneke Orlandini, Lisa Poletti, Nicole Vallario

Offense: Nicole Andenmatten, Laura Desboeufs, Romy Eggimann, Lara Escudero, Kate Leary, Alicia Pagnamenta, Ophélie Ryser, Phoebe Stänz

Coaching: Nenad Ilic

Play-outs

16 February	EV Bomo Thun		3-4		SC Weinfelden Ladies	Kunsteisbahn Grabengut, Thun	Recap
Brand (Schranz, Hänggi) - 3:22 Buxman (Gerber, Schranz) - 17:28		First period			18:20 - Michielin (Leemann)
No scoring		Second period			28:10 - Müller 32:53 - Stejskal (Krause) 39:38 - Confidenti (Ehrbar, Michielin)
Buxman (L. Ingold) - 58:00		Third period			No scoring
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Caroline Lambert

17 February	SC Weinfelden Ladies		3-2		EV Bomo Thun	Güttingersreuti, Weinfelden	Recap
16:21 - Müller (Wetli, Gianola) (PP1)		First period			No scoring
29:29 - Confidenti		Second period			Schranz (S. Minder) (PP1) - 23:08
49:18 - Müller (Stejskal)		Third period			Gerber - 42:21
Caroline Lambert		Goalie stats			Caroline Spies

23 February	EV Bomo Thun		6-1		SC Weinfelden Ladies	Kunsteisbahn Grabengut, Thun	Recap
Bachmann (Schranz) - 17:30		First period			2:14 - Confidenti
Zimmermann (L. Ingold) (SH1) - 24:34 Buxman (Schranz) - 26:59 Schranz (Buxman) - 30:09 Spiess (Brand) - 35:12		Second period			No scoring
Brand (E. Ingold) (PP1) - 56:23		Third period			No scoring
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Caroline Lambert

24 February	SC Weinfelden Ladies		4-2		EV Bomo Thun	Güttingersreuti, Weinfelden	Recap
6:00 - Confidenti (Gianola) (PP1) 7:12 - Confidenti (Michielin) 8:34 - Michielin (Gianola)		First period			Zimmermann (Gerber) - 3:05 Buxman (Gerber, Schranz) (PP1) - 11:57
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
46:35 - Lötscher (Confidenti, Ruh)		Third period			No scoring
Caroline Lambert		Goalie stats			Caroline Spies

SC Weinfelden Ladies won the series 3–1.

SC Weinfelden Ladies saves its place in SWHL A by winning the Play-outs.^[6]

Promotion/Relegation

16 March	SC Brandis Ladies		1-4		EV Bomo Thun	Sportbetriebe Brünnli, Hasle bei Burgdorf	Recap
17:21 - Melicherikova (M. Hofmann) (PP1)		First period			E. Ingold (Gerber) - 11:33 Zimmermann (N. Minder) - 12:01
No scoring		Second period			Zimmermann (N. Minder, S. Minder) - 36:22
No scoring		Third period			Schranz (EN) - 59:35
Jeannine Bürki Franziska Walther		Goalie stats			Saskia Maurer

17 March	SC Brandis Ladies		8-1		EV Bomo Thun	Sportbetriebe Brünnli, Hasle bei Burgdorf	Recap
No scoring		First period			Zimmermann (S. Minder) (PP1) - 19:53
26:49 - Melicherikova		Second period			Spiess (S. Minder) (PP1) - 29:44 Schranz - 31:44 Brand (S. Minder) - 35:25 Zimmermann (Bachmann) - 37:06
No scoring		Third period			L. Ingold (Zimmermann) - 48:29 Buxman (S. Minder, Schranz) - 48:53 Zimmermann - 50:40
Dunja Fasel Sandy Aebi		Goalie stats			Saskia Maurer Caroline Spies

EV Bomo Thun won the series 2–0.[7]