Great mourning in the Garmisch-Partenkirchner ice hockey community and beyond: Hubert Buchiweser, just called Hubi by everyone, died at the age of only 45.
A memorial service will be held on Monday.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- The winter of 2005 marked a turning point in the ice hockey life of Hubert, whom everyone called Hubi - Buchwieser - and that at the age of 29. The winger, fan favorite - for many years it was said that the majority of younger female viewers only came because of him - declared his withdrawal from professional sport. “Twelve years is enough. “I'm glad it's over,” was his reasoning in March 2005. “My head and my body are just tired.” In July he played a farewell game with his two teammates Martin Holzer and Michael Raubal, in order to start a second career afterwards. As the junior boss of SC Riessersee, he was no less successful than as a winger. At that time mostly at his side - and that for many years: Johann Oswald, chairman of SCR-Eishockey eV, and Martin Holzer.Insiders claim that without this trio, the SC Riessersee's youth department would no longer exist in this - successful - form. Oswald ran the club, Buchwieser took care of the management and, together with Holzer, the training of beginners and youngsters on the ice. Basic work that cannot be valued highly enough and that only a few are willing to do. “He always did his job very conscientiously,” says Oswald about Buchwieser. "Ice hockey was his life, the heart of the SC Riessersee belonged for many years."which cannot be valued highly enough and which only a few are willing to perform. “He always did his job very conscientiously,” says Oswald about Buchwieser. "Ice hockey was his life, the heart of the SC Riessersee belonged for many years."which cannot be valued highly enough and which only a few are willing to perform. “He always did his job very conscientiously,” says Oswald about Buchwieser. "Ice hockey was his life, the heart of the SC Riessersee belonged for many years."
That heart, which was a particularly big one, has stopped beating.
On July 20, Buchwieser (45) died completely unexpectedly for many.
He leaves behind his partner Katja and his little son Maxi.
The news of death hit his companions like a shock
For most of his companions, the news of his death came as a shock.
“I will miss him brutally.
He had so much passion for our sport, ”says Andreas Raubal.
“And he was a good friend.
He has done a lot for the SCR.
For me he is a legend from Riessersee. ”Both knew each other from childhood, went through all youth teams and together for many years they held out their bones for the SCR professional team.
Raubal as a tough defender, Buchwieser as a lively striker.
Common highlight for the two then 20-year-olds: The one year in the German ice hockey league when the SCR played first-class for the last time in the 1995/96 season.
And they never lost sight of each other - stayed friends when Raubal found his sporting luck with the Krefeld penguins in the west of the republic.
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Loud coach - that was Hubert Buchwieser, too, whether for the little ones or the older ones of the 1b team.
© Andreas Mayr
Buchwieser tried twice to give his career a boost by changing clubs. In the 2001/02 season he followed the call of the Heilbronner EC, like the SCR second division, after an ice hockey magazine had jazzed him up to the upcoming national player. He did not feel at home in Baden-Württemberg - and returned to his great love, the Riessersee, after just one year. After the bankruptcy in the DEL 2 in November 2003, he moved to the Landshut Cannibals for the rest of the season. When the Garmisch-Partenkirchen team managed a fresh start in the top league under manager Ralph Bader in the summer of 2004, he returned again - marked by numerous injuries and illnesses and therefore no longer at the height of his creativity. It was enough to eight goals and 18 assists in 32 games."I just wanted to help my home club with the restart," said Buchwieser at the time in an interview with the Garmisch-Partenkirchner / Murnauer Tagblatt on the occasion of his farewell game. “I give him great credit for that,” Bader explains in retrospect. After several quarrels, which Bader as SCR managing director and Buchwieser as junior coordinator fought out, they had finally reconciled. "We talked to each other more often and were in agreement on most things," emphasizes Bader."We talked to each other more often and were in agreement on most things," emphasizes Bader."We talked to each other more often and were in agreement on most things," emphasizes Bader.
Cult status in the fan base - especially among the female fans of the SC Riessersee
Hubi Buchwieser's cult status among the SCR fan base was not only achieved by his fighter heart - "As a player, he always went where it hurt," emphasizes Oswald - also through his sunny disposition. He was considered a Gaudibursch, always with a brisk saying on his lips. “He was able to tell stories as funny and witty as no other,” says Raubal. Oswald also had this experience. He remembers a joint train ride to Hamburg. Buchwieser is said to have explained in nice words to a slightly overweight conductress how she could lose weight in a pleasant way. "The whole compartment roared with laughter - even the conductress." About his teammate from Heilbronn, Oleg Znarok, who won a gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games as coach with the Russian national team in 2018,Buchwieser knew quite a few anecdotes. "The Hubi described him as quite a bazi," says Oswald.
Buchwieser also retained the ability to delight people with his stories from a successful ice hockey life as a player and functionary when he gave up his job as the SCR's junior coordinator in 2018. “His fire was somehow extinguished,” says Raubal. "He devoted himself to a new task: his family." His friends from the regulars' table with the former Riessersers - including Andreas Raubal, Stefan Schauer, Hardi and Martin Wild and Florian Schnitzer - remained important to him. The meetings were canceled last year because of the corona pandemic. "We hadn't spoken for a long time," says Raubal. They got together on Friday evening - for a sad occasion. "We will all miss the Hubi very much," explains Raubal. Attending the service in his honor is a must for him. He believes,that many will come to say goodbye to Buchwieser. July 20th was a turning point for all of his friends and those who knew and liked him.
The word service
on the death of Hubert “Hubi” Buchwieser will take place on Monday, July 26th, at 2 pm at the funeral hall at the Garmisch cemetery.
The urn burial is planned for a later date in the family circle.