Genève-Servette beat Skellefteå AIK 3-2 in yesterday’s 2024 Champions Hockey League Final. The Swiss team came out hungry, scoring three within the first 20 minutes, but had to weather a late surge from the visiting Swedes to seal the lavish title of 2024 European Club Champions.
After the game, we caught Geneve’s big forward Daniel Winnik, the scorer of the game-winning goal!
“Hockey sometimes isn’t pretty"Daniel Winnik, Genève-Servette
“It was a really hard-fought battle,” he started, “we took an early 3-1 lead, but they pinned us in the third and really made us work for the victory.”
“Hockey sometimes isn’t pretty but it’s the result that counts in the end,” he added.
Winnik scored a superb OT game-winner earlier in the season against Dynamo Pardubice, how did scoring in the Final feel?
“It was amazing, it really was, just thank God the goal stood!”
The atmosphere in Geneva’s Patinoire des Vernets was electric. Fans flooded the arena hours before the game, sang and chanted down to the final minutes and celebrated with their team long into the night. Could Winnik feel their presence?
“Oh yeah! Hats off to them, they really brought the noise tonight,” he said.
Winnik also had lots of praise for goalie Olkinuora who only joined the team in mid-December: “He’s phenomenal, he’s slid right into our group and is a big reason why we’re champions!”
Watch the full game highlights below!