LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Recently promoted France had its toughest test this month before heading to its former colony, Quebec, Canada, for the 2008 World Championship.
France participated at the four-nation Skoda Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is often seen as the best francophone hockey town outside of Canada. However, the French were not there to test another French-speaking city but rather their ability to survive in the top division. With host Switzerland, one of the preliminary round opponents in Quebec, in addition to Germany and Slovakia, the French could play established top division nations instead of the European Ice Hockey Challenge tournaments they traditionally compete in. The bottom line: It was not easy for the Frenchmen but the results were not bad.
“The Germans and Swiss play in better leagues, they’re physically stronger and a head taller but we were beginning to keep up with them,” said Laurent Meunier, the captain of Team France. The French started with close losses against Slovakia, 3-2, and Germany, 6-5. Even though they were not in the lead for a single second, they kept the games open and competitive.
Meunier knows most about the first 2008 Worlds opponent, Switzerland. He’s in his second season with Servette Geneva in the Swiss National League A. Similar to the Skoda Cup, the season is also not easy for Meunier. He is the fifth foreign player with the team in a league that allows four imports per game. The 29-year-old played his last NLA game on December 1, 2007. Since then, he was a healthy scratch or loaned as a farm team player to Lausanne of the B-League. Since the Skoda Cup, he hasn’t played a game but is expected to get his chance this week with Geneva when the regular season winds down.
“It’s not easy for me not to play but I’m doing everything I can, I practice hard and I prepare myself for the playoffs and the World Championship,” Meunier says. Of course, the centre hopes to play in the playoffs for second-ranked Servette, but he is not likely to be in the line-up of the first game.
Even though Meunier is struggling in Geneva, he is the first-line centre of the French national team and is looking forward to the first-ever World Championship in Canada. “It is very special for us, also because they’re French-speaking, I think the fans will like us and maybe cheer more for us than for the other teams there,” Meunier says. “Everything is possible. We have just to play hockey. I think Belarus and Switzerland are not invincible.” However, the big test against the Swiss this month was decided quickly with the Swiss owning a five-goal lead after 34 minutes. In the end, the French lost 5-2. Can the French close the gap even further in time for Quebec? Time will tell.
Notebook:
- Meunier is not the only Team France player in Europe’s top-seven leagues. Yorick Treille plays for ERC Ingolstadt in Germany but couldn’t join his compatriots due to an injury. French-Canadian Sébastien Bordeleau plays for top-ranked SC Bern in Swizerland, but is not on Team France anymore.
- Five other French players came from foreign clubs to the Skoda Cup. Netminder Fabrice Lhenry and Olivier Coqueux play for Exbjerg in Denmark while Nicolas Besch (Vaasa, Finland), Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (Leksand, Sweden) and Antoine Lussier (La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) play in second-tier leagues.
- Lhenry is the most experienced France player with 187 international games. However, the Rozenthal twins are not far behind.
- The most famous French player will likely be playing 150 miles away from Quebec when the tournament starts. Goalkeeper Cristobal Huet is co-leading the NHL’s Eastern Conference with the Montreal Canadiens.
- Grenoble won the French Cup against Rouen, 3-2, in front of 12,904 fans in Paris-Bercy. While the French capital lost its status as a hot spot in the league a long time ago, there is much enthusiasm when the cup final comes to Paris each year.
- In the top French league, the Ligue Magnus, Grenoble is ranked third with 39 points after 24 rounds. Briancon and Rouen are leading with 41 points.
MARTIN MERK
