The German national ice hockey team caused a surprise by making it into the World Cup semi-finals.
On Saturday (5.15 p.m.) the team will play against Finland.
The euphoria among ice hockey enthusiasts is great - also in the district.
District / Riga - The German national ice hockey team caused a surprise with its entry into the World Cup semi-finals. On Saturday (5.15 p.m.), national coach Toni Söderholm's team will play against Finland for the final. The euphoria among ice hockey enthusiasts is great - also in the district.
Andreas Feuerecker played
it safe before the quarter-finals against Switzerland.
The captain of the EC Peiting set the timer on his television set so that he doesn't miss the start of the game.
“The seasons at a World Cup are a bit different than usual,” says the 29-year-old.
Together with his girlfriend, the Oberliga player saw the thrilling duel with the Swiss - and was enthusiastic: “They were pure emotions.” On the one hand, there was the 2-2 equalizer shortly before the end and on the other hand, the cheeky move by winner Marcel Noebels in penalty shootout.
Converting a penalty like this "shows self-confidence," says Feuerecker.
"That was really strong."
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Ice hockey player Andreas Feuerecker, captain at EC Peiting.
© www.holger-wieland.de
The Wallgauer trusts the German team to make it to the final.
A success like the one in the quarterfinals “can give you such a boost.
And when you are in the flow, you develop yourself and your game further. ”The 29-year-old has already experienced several times at EC Peiting what is possible with euphoria.
Feuerecker pays particular attention to one German player in Riga: Maximilian Kastner.
With the DEL professional of the EHC Red Bull Munich, the ECP captain ran through all the offspring at SC Riessersee.
Together with the SCR they also celebrated winning the league title in 2011.
Feuerecker and Kastner have contact "now and then", but not during the World Cup.
By the way, Feuerecker played with defender Marcel Brandt at EV Regensburg in 2012/2013.
“The ice hockey scene is relatively small,” says the policeman.
According to Feuerecker, the successes of the DEB selection have what it takes to trigger “a boost for ice hockey”. After the World Cup, “perhaps one or the other parent might decide to go ice hockey with their children”. It is also the case, however, that “unfortunately everything besides football is a marginal sport for us”. The league player himself has the coming season in mind: with road cycling, mountain biking, speed runs and strength training (in Corona lockdown he set up appropriate equipment in the basement) he works on his form. At the ECP, Feuerecker is known as the fitness king in the team. For the semifinals, that is clear, but it goes back in front of the television.
Björn Michels
and his wife Bianca gave each other the full program on the day of the quarter-finals at the World Cup: The two watched all four games.
The joy of the German success was great.
What the DEB team delivers in Riga "is very, very good," says Björn Michels.
The 40-year-old, who works in tool management, is the main junior trainer (U7 to U20) at EA Schongau and at the same time the BEV base manager in Füssen.
Bianca Michels is the youth chairwoman of Region 4 at the BEV (with the districts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Weilheim-Schongau, Landsberg).
"At home everything revolves around ice hockey," says Björn Michels.
Even on vacation there is no exception: Last week, in Italy, the two did everything they can to watch the World Cup matches.
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Björn Michels, main junior coach (U7 to U20) at EA Schongau.
© EA Schongau.
The fact that ice hockey has now moved into the focus of reporting is "very important for the youngsters," says Björn Michels. The young girls and boys who were not allowed to train or play because of the Corona restrictions would see: “Hey, there is still ice hockey!” And parents who are looking for a sport for their children will be more aware of this. After silver at the 2018 Olympics, there was a brief hype, "but it was over quickly," says Michels. The licensed coach is also hoping for a boom through the World Cup. That makes it “easier for small clubs to recruit young players”. In his youth, Michels also played soccer and handball. But there is nothing comparable to the “spirit in an ice hockey team”, he enthuses.The sport offers comprehensive training and is also tactically demanding.
Nowadays, to make ice hockey attractive for parents and children, it is not enough just to open the stadium gate. “The parents look exactly where they can get the best possible,” says Michels. Accordingly, he tries to design the offer at EA Schongau. Lo and behold: Despite Corona, “it has already borne fruit,” reports the native of Hesse, who once began his career in Limburg and Bad Nauheim. For the German team at the World Cup, "anything is now possible," says Michels. For the semifinals, he predicts a 3-2 win after extra time.
The question of how she's following the World Cup "is really exciting," says
Monika Häring
(formerly Bittner) - and laughs.
The former national player from Peißenberg became a mother for the second time five weeks ago.
A daughter has now been added to a son (3).
That shifts the priorities - and also reduces the opportunities to watch games at all.
Häring watched the final phase of the quarter-finals against Switzerland - visiting his parents - but on television.
“You are there again from zero to a hundred,” says the 33-year-old.
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Monika Häring (then still Bittner) in a preliminary round game at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
© imago sports photo service
The World Cup is also something special because "the name 'Bittner' is back internationally". The Peißenbergerin, who has lived in Bad Tölz since 2014, is related to Dominik Bittner in many different ways. During her career, Monika Häring played various world championships with the DEB women in the top group and Division I (she was the top scorer in 2011). A highlight in 2014 was the participation in the Olympic Games in Sochi. She knows what it is like to play tight matches in championships. That the DEB team has now won one, "I'm really pleased".
In 2017, Häring, who won five German championship titles with the ESC Planegg, ended her career.
But it is astonishing “how quickly you can get out of it all,” says the former sports soldier.
Every now and then she is asked whether she would like to go back on the ice after all, but the chapter is over for Häring: "I'm enjoying my current life."
For the DEB selection “nothing is impossible” in the semifinals.
More realistic, however, according to Häring, is that in the end it is about bronze.
After all, the team is among the last four, "you can already be proud of it".
And the result also shows "that the 2018 Olympics were not a flash in the pan".
