Hockey is back in Geneva and for the fans of Genève-Servette this is terrific news and what’s more, their team has been excelling on the pan-European stage taking nine out of a possible 12 points to start this batch of games in the 2023/24 Champions Hockey League.
30-year-old Swiss Canadian Tanner Richard understands it's been a long wait for the Genève faithful - how does it feel to be playing in front of them after the summer break?
“We know we have great fans here and we love coming back to our home rink. I’m sure it was a long summer for them and the last game in Geneva was pretty fun. I think the fans carried that forward when we skated out onto the ice.”
"There’s a reason there are six games and not only four"Tanner Richard, Genève-Servette
Following their slow start against HC Innsbruck, the Swiss have rallied back to take three in a row.
In their most recent battle with the Rouen Dragons, Genève put on a clinic treating the home crowd to a nine-goal feast that featured eight different players entering the goal column.
Richard registered the primary assist on three of those tallies, bringing his point total to six and tying him for first in points with Marc-Antoine Pouliot.
What was key to the team's success this weekend?
“We worked on a few things throughout the week leading into the weekend games and I think we did a good job winning the games that we had to win this weekend.”
Points being at a premium regarding the new CHL format, how confident are Genève feeling with their effort so far?
“There’s a reason there are six games and not only four. We won three out of four and I think it’s good,” Richard noted before going on to say, “we can’t look back, just look forward and in a couple of weeks we’ll be ready for the next game when the time comes.”
Just as the fans are thrilled to have the game back, so too is Richard, who has been embracing the opportunity to travel to different places and compete against different opponents in the CHL.
“I think it’s fun. You don’t always get to see a lot of teams like this,” he admitted, adding, “it’s a cool new experience and I’m enjoying it and I look forward to the rest of the year."
Genève's next game in the CHL will be at home against Dynamo Pardubice on 10 October at 19:45 CEST.