Ambri-Piotta vs Langnau Tigers

Ambri-Piotta could hardly have asked for a better start. Petr Kodytek opened the scoring just 53 seconds in, finishing a feed from Diego Kostner and Tim Muggli. The lead doubled at 4:27 when Nathan Borradori converted, with Muggli and Kodytek again providing the assists.

The script flipped entirely inside two minutes of special teams chaos. Lukas Landry's tripping penalty at 14:08 gave Langnau a power play, and Saku Mäenalanen buried at 14:31 — assisted by Andre Petersson — to cut the lead to 2-1. Seconds later, Nathan Schnarr was sent off for goalkeeper interference, and Hannes Björninen made it 2-2 at 16:26, with Mäenalanen and Petersson again combining.

Langnau weren't done. With the period winding down, Julian Schmutz fired home at 19:56 — Joel Salzgeber with the assist — to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.

The Tigers struck again just 39 seconds into the second period. Andre Petersson scored what would stand as the game-winner at 20:39, Jérôme Bachofner and Hannes Björninen setting it up to make it 4-2.

Ambri clawed one back on the power play at 25:07 — Roby Järventie scoring with Nathan Schnarr and Kodytek assisting — to make it 4-3. But that was as close as they would get.

Langnau put the game to bed in the third period. Phil Baltisberger scored unassisted at 46:46, and Robin Ramsauer added a sixth at 55:01 with Matteo Wagner providing the helper.

Ambri's discipline collapse between 14:08 and 16:26 of the first period turned a commanding 2-0 lead into a 2-2 deadlock. Two minor penalties — tripping by Landry and goalkeeper interference by Schnarr — gave Langnau 1:44 of power-play time, and the Tigers converted both chances in just 1:55 of game time. A team that had controlled the opening 14 minutes suddenly found themselves level, and when Schmutz scored at 19:56, the momentum had swung irreversibly.

Andre Petersson (Langnau) was the game's most influential player, scoring the game-winner (2-4, 20:39) and adding two primary assists. His line — alongside Bachofner and Björninen — created Langnau's second, third and fourth goals.

Saku Mäenalanen (Langnau) scored once and assisted once, both on the power play during the critical two-minute blitz that erased Ambri's lead.

Petr Kodytek (Ambri-Piotta) scored the opening goal and assisted on two others, finishing with three points in a losing cause.

Philip Wüthrich (Ambri-Piotta) faced 27 shots and made 21 saves; while the six goals against look heavy, he faced consistent pressure especially in the second and third periods (11 and 10 shots respectively).

Langnau outshot Ambri 27-19 (6-6, 11-9, 10-4), with the shot differential widening as the game progressed — a pattern that reflects the Tigers growing increasingly comfortable after erasing the early deficit. Ambri won the faceoff battle convincingly at 53.85% (28 of 52) but that territorial advantage at the dot never translated into sustained offensive pressure after the opening salvo. The special-teams gap told the story: Langnau scored on 2 of 4 power plays (6:36 of PP time), while Ambri managed 1 PPG from their 2 opportunities (2:07 of PP time). Ambri blocked 19 shots to Langnau's 10, a sign of a team defending deep rather than carrying play.

This was Ambri-Piotta's second pre-season outing of the summer — they beat GDT Bellinzona Snakes 2-1 in overtime on 14 August. For Langnau, this was a bounce-back after a 1-0 loss to EHC Kloten on 22 August, where they managed only one goal. Both sides are National League opponents tuning up for the 2026-27 regular season.

Ambri-Piotta next face Schwenninger Wild Wings on 28 August at the Biascarena. Langnau Tigers travel to Lugano on 28 August for their next pre-season test.

Ambri-Piotta's explosive start masked structural issues that Langnau exposed ruthlessly. Two quick power-play goals broke the game open, and once the Tigers took the lead, they never looked back. For Ambri, the discipline lapses and defensive fragility after the 4:27 mark will be the takeaway for Jussi Tapola. For Langnau, the resilience to recover from 2-0 down inside 20 minutes and then control the remainder is an encouraging sign ahead of the season proper.