2023–24 SWHL A season

The 2022–23 Swiss League season was the 37th season of the Swiss Women's League A.

2023–24 SWHL A season
League	Swiss Women's League A
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	September 16, 2023 – February 25, 2024
Number of games	104
Number of teams	8
Regular Season
Season Champions	SC Bern Frauen
Season MVP	Estelle Duvin (SC Bern Frauen)
Playoffs
Women's League champion
Champions	ZSC Lions Frauen
Runners-up	SC Bern Frauen

Teams

Winning the SWHL-B championship, the HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies is promoted to SWHL-A^[1]

The major Swiss hockey clubs are showing more and more interest in women's hockey. The EV Zug created a women's team with an impressive budget of 1.2 million CHF. The League authorizes them to take part in the SWHL-B championship.^[2] In response, SC Bern took EV Bomo Thun under its wing. SC Bern Frauen will now play at the PostFinance Arena.^[3] The HC Davos also agrees with the HC Thurgau to move its team from the Indians to the Eisstadion Davos, under the name HC Davos Ladies.^[4]

HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls

SC Bern Frauen

HC Davos Ladies

HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies

SC Langenthal Ladies

Ladies Team Lugano

HC Université Neuchâtel Dames

ZSC Lions Frauen

Swiss League teams for the 2023–24 season

Team	Trainer	City	Arena	Capacity
HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	Benjamin Rogger, Christian Agustoni	Quinto	Nuova Valascia	6,675
SC Bern Frauen	Thomas Zwahlen, Petra Melicherikova	Bern	PostFinance Arena	17,031
HC Davos Ladies	Andrea Kröni, Marc Kröni, Emanuel Karrer	Davos	Eisstadion Davos	7,080
HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies	Valentin Dufour, Fabrice Vadi	Fribourg	BCF Arena	9,075
SC Langenthal Ladies	Jürg Langenegger, Nicola Minder	Langenthal	Schoren Halle	4,320
Ladies Team Lugano	Massimo Fedrizzi	Lugano	Cornèr Arena	7,200
HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	Yan Gigon	Neuchâtel	Patinoire du Littoral	7,000
ZSC Lions Frauen	Angela Frautschi, Cyndy Kenyon	Zürich	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon	1,700

Regular season

The regular season started on 16 September 2023 and ended on 25 February 2024. The regular season is played at the national level in the form of a round of five matches, that is to say that each of the eight teams plays 28 matches. The first four in the ranking in the regular season compete in the playoffs (best of 5), the four last team compete in a ranking round. The Swiss SWHL-B champions will be promoted directly to the WL for the 2024/25 season. The SWHL-B runner-up plays a league qualifier against the loser of the WL ranking round. If the SWHL-B champion does not wish to be promoted, the runner-up will be promoted directly and no WL member will be relegated. If SWHL-B champions and runners-up do not wish to be promoted, there will be no promotion or relegation from WL to SWHL-B.^[5]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	SC Bern Frauen	28	23	1	1	3	139	47	+92	72	Advance to Playoffs
2	ZSC Lions Frauen	28	21	2	1	4	122	47	+75	68
3	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	28	19	1	1	7	123	66	+57	60
4	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	28	13	1	2	12	86	82	+4	43
5	HC Davos Ladies	28	11	2	1	14	69	76	−7	38	Advance to Ranking Round
6	HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies	28	9	1	0	18	75	112	−37	29
7	Ladies Team Lugano	28	5	0	2	21	45	150	−105	17
8	SC Langenthal Ladies	28	3	0	0	25	27	106	−79	9

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.^[6] 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
Estelle Duvin	SC Bern Frauen	28	35	32	67	18
Maija Otamo	SC Bern Frauen	28	22	36	58	8
Fanny Rask	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	28	18	37	55	34
Sinja Leemann	ZSC Lions Frauen	28	25	27	52	8
Theresa Knutson	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	28	30	19	49	6
Eleri MacKay	HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies	28	19	21	40	6
Emma Ingold	SC Bern Frauen	28	15	21	36	8
Romy Eggimann	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	27	19	16	35	34
Jenna Suokko	SC Bern Frauen	27	16	16	32	37
Jenna Kaila	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	25	21	10	31	12

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.^[7]

Player	Team(s)	GP	TOI	GA	GAA
Sandy Heim	ZSC Lions Frauen	16	824	17	1,24
Alexandra Lehmann	SC Bern Frauen	14	787	18	1,37
Laura De Bastiani	ZSC Lions Frauen	17	864	27	1,88
Saskia Maurer	SC Bern Frauen	15	864	27	1,88
Sofia Decristophoris	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	23	1363	46	2,03

Playoffs

Bracket

	Semi-finals (best-of-5)					Finals (best-of-5)
	1	SC Bern Frauen	3
	4	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	0
						1	SC Bern Frauen	2
						2	ZSC Lions Frauen	3
	2	ZSC Lions Frauen	3
	3	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	1			Game for 3rd place (best-of-1)
						3	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	5
						4	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	4

Semi-Finals

(1) SC Bern Frauen vs. (4) HC Université Neuchâtel Dames

2 March	SC Bern Frauen		4-0		HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	PostFinance Arena, Bern	Recap
Allemann (Ryser, Rossel) - 3:44		First period			No scoring
Duvin (Ingold, Suokko) (PP1) - 25:07		Second period			No scoring
Ingold (Duvin, Aymon) - 40:23 Duvin (PS) - 56:26		Third period			No scoring
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Nina Paiva

3 March	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames		1-4		SC Bern Frauen	Patinoire du Littoral, Neuchâtel	Recap
No scoring		First period			Otamo (Aymon) - 0:22 Christen (Allemann) - 9:29
No scoring		Second period			Suokko (Rossel, Joray) (PP1) - 37:50
50:55 - Bourquin (Fornasier, Bargo Cuns)		Third period			Pélissou (Otamo) - 42:49
Nina Paiva		Goalie stats			Saskia Maurer

9 March	SC Bern Frauen		2-1		HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	PostFinance Arena, Bern	Recap
Suokko (Joray, S. Marty) - 14:12		First period			No scoring
Otamo (Duvin) - 32:52		Second period			32:23 - Fornasier (Brauen)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Nina Paiva

SC Bern Frauen won the series 3–0.

(2) ZSC Lions Frauen vs. (3) HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls

2 March	ZSC Lions Frauen		1-3		HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Rüedi (Scheurer, Lendi) - 58:21		Third period			42:24 - Luraschi (Holmgren, Andenmatten) 51:37 - Kaila (Knutson, Rask) (PP1) 53:51 - Kaila (Knutson, Rask) (PP2)
Sandy Heim		Goalie stats			Sofia Decristophoris

3 March	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls		1-2	OT	ZSC Lions Frauen	Nuova Valascia, Quinto	Recap
No scoring		First period			Baechler (Leemann) - 15:19
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
41:32 - Knutson (Kaila, Montalbetti)		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			Baechler (Rüedi) - 61:29
Sofia Decristophoris		Goalie stats			Sandy Heim

9 March	ZSC Lions Frauen		5-2		HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
Rüedi (Scheurer) - 16:38		First period			No scoring
Marti (Lendi) - 22:48 Baechler (Rüedi) - 35:08		Second period			34:37 - Merz (Andenmatten, Holmgren) 36:31 - Rask (Knutson) (PP1)
Kontny (Harju, Thalmann) - 45:51 Kontny - 51:43		Third period			No scoring
Sandy Heim		Goalie stats			Sofia Decristophoris

10 March	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls		0-3		ZSC Lions Frauen	Nuova Valascia, Quinto	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Baechler (Rüedi) (PP1) - 28:30
No scoring		Third period			Marti - 58:15 Leemann (Rüedi) (EN) - 59:43
Sofia Decristophoris		Goalie stats			Sandy Heim

ZSC Lions Frauen won the series 3–1.

Game for 3rd place

17 March	HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls		5-4	OT	HC Université Neuchâtel Dames	Nuova Valascia, Quinto	Recap
Rask (Luraschi, Eggimann) - 3:36 Eggimann (Rask) - 5:44		First period			1:10 - Kunz (Carpenter-Boesch, Gilomen)
Rask (Desboeufs) - 26:01 Kaila (Knutson, Holmgren) (SH1) - 31:50		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			41:37 - Bourquin (Menoud, Fornasier) 49:54 - Guerriero (Carpenter-Boesch) (PP1) 57:40 - Truax (Kunz)
Eggimann (Rask, Kaila) (PP1) - 75:06		First overtime period			No scoring
Sofia Decristophoris		Goalie stats			Nina Paiva

HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls won the game and finish at the 3rd place.[8][9]

Finals

16 March	SC Bern Frauen		2-3	OT	ZSC Lions Frauen	PostFinance Arena, Bern	Recap
Otamo (Duvin) - 8:40		First period			No scoring
Otamo (Duvin) - 33:47		Second period			25:44 - Bachmann (Rüedi, Scheurer) 34:11 - Lendi (Marti)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			64:00 - Leemann (PS)
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Sandy Heim

17 March	ZSC Lions Frauen		1-2		SC Bern Frauen	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
2:09 - Thalmann		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			Christen (PP1) - 54:04 Ingold (Allemann) - 55:19
Sandy Heim		Goalie stats			Saskia Maurer

20 March	SC Bern Frauen		1-2		ZSC Lions Frauen	PostFinance Arena, Bern	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Rossel (Suokko, Duvin) - 39:59		Second period			30:05 - Sigrist (Fontaine) (PP1) 36:15 - Leemann (Marti, Lendi)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Sandy Heim

23 March	ZSC Lions Frauen		0-1		SC Bern Frauen	Kunsteisbahn Oerlikon, Zürich	Recap
No scoring		First period			Otamo (Pélissou, Duvin) - 2:46
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Sandy Heim		Goalie stats			Saskia Maurer

24 March	SC Bern Frauen		0-3		ZSC Lions Frauen	PostFinance Arena, Bern	Recap
No scoring		First period			3:17 - Schaefer (Fontaine)
No scoring		Second period			39:47 - Scheurer (Baechler, Rüedi)
No scoring		Third period			44:38 - Rüedi (Baechler) (PP1)
Saskia Maurer		Goalie stats			Sandy Heim

ZSC Lions Frauen won the series 3–2.[10][11]

Team of Swiss champions

Goalkeepers: Laura De Bastiani, Sandy Heim

Defense: Alessia Baechler, Christine Deaudelin, Skylar Fontaine, Zoé Mächler, Jana Peter, Shannon Sigrist, Aurela Thalmann

Offense: Jil Aschwanden, Sara Bachmann, Mara Frey, Nora Harju, Kristina Kontny, Tereza Lahova, Sinja Leemann, Renee Lendi, Alina Marti, Lisa Rüedi, Vanessa Schaefer, Dominique Scheurer

Coaching: Angela Frautschi, Cyndy Kenyon

Awards

• Most Valuable Player : Estelle Duvin (SC Bern Frauen)^[12]
• Best forward : Estelle Duvin (SC Bern Frauen) and Fanny Rask (HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls)
• Best defender : Josefine Holmgren (HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls)
• Best goalkeeper : Saskia Maurer (SC Bern Frauen)
• Best rookie : Leoni Balzer (HC Davos Ladies)
• Best coach : Thomas Zwahlen (SC Bern Frauen)

Ranking Round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	HC Davos Ladies	6	5	0	0	1	22	9	+13	15	Saison Ended
2	HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies	6	5	0	0	1	33	9	+24	15
3	SC Langenthal Ladies	6	2	0	0	4	16	17	−1	6
4	Ladies Team Lugano	6	0	0	0	6	1	37	−36	0	Advance to Relegation round

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.

The Ladies Team Lugano, after having recorded numerous departures at the start of this season, has experienced a lot of difficulty during this season. Finishing last in the championship with a very limited contingent, the leaders preferred to give up playing in the relegation round and accepted being relegated to the green carpet. The champion of the SWHL-B, the EV Zug Women therefore advances to the SWHL-A.^[13]