The ESC Dorfen has to play against EA Schongau in the playdowns. If it goes stupid five times. The ice pirates want to make the relegation perfect in three games.
Dorfen - 42 games - six in preparation, 25 in the Bayernliga main round - and recently twelve missions in the relegation round have been completed by the ESP Dorfen ice pirates this season, which is coming to an end Playdown series against EA Schongau the last chance in the fight for relegation to seize.
With the 5-2 home win against ESC Geretsried, the team of trainer Randy Neal did not secure early relegation, but at least secured home right in the "Best of five" mode. And that is exactly what you are hoping for in the Dorfen camp and want to close the bag in three games if possible.
First game tonight in the Dr.-Rudolf-Halle
For the first of five possible meetings, EA Schongau will be guest this evening at 8 p.m. in Dorfen's Dr.-Rudolf-Halle. On Sunday (5 p.m.), the second leg at the Pfaffenwinklers starts. Should the Dorfeners succeed two wins this weekend, the playdowns could be successfully concluded with another victory on Friday, March 13th, in Dorfen. In Dorfen one does not believe and hope for another scenario. Further possible dates are fixed on Sunday, March 15th in Schongau and Friday, March 20th in Dorfen.
In previous encounters with the mammoths, the ice pirates won in the main round in Dorfen (3: 1) and Schongau (5: 2) as well as in the relegation round a 5: 4 in Dorfen and a curious 5: 6 defeat after extra time in Schongau. Back then, in mid-February, the ESC was 2: 4 behind after the second third, making 5: 4 in the 59th minute to collect the equalization in the 60th minute. Here the Dorfeners have given the counters that they ultimately lacked for early relegation. In the final accounts, they were tied with Schweinfurt, but had the poorer goal difference.
Dorfen relies on three top scorers
As with Geretsried, the ice pirates rely on the use of all three top scorers, Lukas Mikulka, Martin Saluga and Tomas Vrba, who no longer falls under the foreign contingent with a German passport. However, it was not yet certain whether the battered defenders Florian Mayer and Christoph Lönnig were operational again. The mammoths will surely throw their fighting power into the balance. If they can all offer their leading wolves like goalkeeper Daniel Blankenburg, the newly signed Slovak Ronald Dvonc - he scored two goals and two assists at the last encounter with Dorfen -, the Czech Jakub Muzik and the German-Canadian Jeffrey Szwez they are always an equal opponent.
Georg Brennauer