As of: April 8, 2024, 11:40 a.m
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Huge cheers after a strenuous tournament weekend: the second runner-up from Red Hocks Kaufering is South German champion. © RHK
In front of 160 spectators in the Kaufering sports center, the 2nd team of the Red Hocks Kaufering won the South German championship title on Sunday. Both in the semi-finals against Stuttgart-Feuerbach (15:2) and against the United Lakers Constance in the final (7:1), coach Tom Richardon's team confirmed their dominance from the main round.
Kaufering - Bavarian versus Baden-Württemberg champions: The final of the southern German championship could hardly have been more worthy. As in the main round (10 games, 10 wins), the Red Hocks Kaufering also showed a respectable game in the final for the South German crown, especially on the offensive. After Marc Lippert was nicely cleared by Lukas Trieb after just 95 seconds, Maximilian Manhart completed a pass from captain Marco Tobisch from a central position. Stefan Bergmair also put a well-placed shot into the top corner to make it 3-0 (10th). Especially in this first third, the Red Hocks hardly gave their opponents any room to breathe - Konstanz only shot on goal once in the first 20 minutes.
But in the second third, the team from Lake Constance appeared more courageous and was often dangerous, especially on counterattacks, but goalkeeper Dominik Fellner (later voted best player) made several brilliant saves. In this phase he ensured that the game did not tip over. Meanwhile, ex-national player Maxi Falkenberger extended the lead to 4-0 after a nice individual performance and a well-placed wrist shot.
In the final third, Kaufering limited himself to managing after a power-play goal (again Bergmair, 43'), Konstanz defended well and didn't allow any further goals for the time being. However: The United Lakers initially didn't want to score the consolation goal. Only after a finely completed counterattack by Ferdinand Reichenberger to make it 6-0, Konstanz could finally celebrate: Felix Kinder scored with a shot to make it 1-6. But the final point was set by Dominik Thiel, who overcame the strong goalkeeper Kevin Kaiser from close range.
“It was a great team performance over the entire weekend, all three rows did a strong job. I’m incredibly proud of the team,” says Kaufering’s captain Marco Tobisch, who was the top scorer in the Final4 with one goal and six assists.
Feuerbach cracked in the first third
The Red Hocks had already gotten off to a lightning start on Saturday: U17 players Lukas Trieb and Tom Zöllner both scored a hat-trick in the first third, and together with Maxi Falkenberger they gave them a 7-0 lead after 20 minutes. After that, Stuttgart defended more aggressively and, in particular, closed down the center better, so that there were no easy goals. The 5:1 result in the third did not really reflect the balance of power in the second half, as the runner-up from Baden-Württemberg played well. In the final third, the Red Hocks increased their lead to 15:2 and exchanged their personnel - so the goalkeepers Dominik Fellner, Tom Heubeck and Lena Exner all received a third and thus the trust of coach Richardon at the end of the season.
The coach was thrilled after the tournament: “We won 15 of our 16 games this season and only lost in extra time in the cup round of 16 against Quedlinburg. The team developed impressively over the course of the season and we were able to achieve all of our goals. The South German championship title is something like the icing on the cake of a great season with many special moments.”
As with the Bundesliga team, the season for the regional league team is now over. Only for individual youth players on the team, further season highlights await with national finals in the youth sector.