Lions duel in Frankfurt: The Tölzer will compete at the front runner on Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Since new signing Jimmy Hertel is still prevented, backup Josef Hölzl is in the starting six for the first time.
Bad Tölz - The 13th matchday - the last before the Germany Cup break - brought luck to the Löwen Frankfurt: With a 5-3 win over Heilbronn they brought back the championship lead from the Ravensburg Towerstars.
The Tölzer Löwen couldn't face a more difficult task than competing against the front runner and self-proclaimed title contender for their comeback on the ice this Tuesday (7.30 p.m.).
After all, the nine-day break brought my strength back.
"Five games in ten days have really hurt my small squad," said coach Kevin Gaudet.
The rehab days also brought some movement to the Löwen hospital.
With Marcus Götz, Thomas Merl and, more recently, Marco Wölfl, there are still three top performers in the medical bulletin.
The team has to play for Hölzl. "
Lions trainer Kevin Gaudet
To make matters worse, Jimmy Hertel, who will replace the unlucky fellow Marco Wölfl from the Landshut game until the end of the season, was unable to postpone a private, mandatory date.
That is why Josef Hölzl will be in a DEL 2-Starting Six for the first time.
“He is happy and prepared,” reports Gaudet of his training impressions.
The 21-year-old backup has already guarded the Löwen case for a third: In the 2:10 home defeat against Bayreuth, he replaced Wölfl in the final section, but also had to reach behind him three times.
"The team has to play for Hölzl", says Gaudet and demands "an extra portion of defense" against Frankfurt.
Tölzer Löwen again with Lubor Dibelka
Is that enough?
At least when attacking, the Tölzer Löwen are back on the ice with three complete rows.
Because Lubor Dibelka has also cured his back pain in the meantime and can fully attack in row one alongside Tyler McNeely and Samir Kharboutli.
Lukas Vantuch, whose trial contract could not be extended for financial reasons, has definitely taken off the lion jersey.
"We can't afford to put a foreigner in the stands at the moment," explains Managing Director Jürgen Rumrich.
"It's a shame, because Lukas fit into the team well and he would have helped us further in terms of sport."
Frankfurt with top values in all statistics
On ten of the previous 13 game days, the Hessians were at the top of the tableau and with top values in all relevant statistics prove how hard they are working for promotion to the DEL. Sports director Franz Fritzmeier did the lion's share of the work in the summer. After a troubled and disappointing season that ended in the playoff quarter-finals against eventual champions Bietigheim, he turned the team inside out. The result is an ensemble that has the experience of 2266 DEL games under its belt and, with Jake Hildebrand, the best ECHL goalkeeper of the past season. The 28-year-old American (536 minutes played) even took last year's goalkeeper Bastian Kucis (243) from number one status."Apart from the five missing contingent positions compared to our league, Frankfurt is actually already a DEL team," said Gaudet.
No less than six Frankfurters are listed among the top 30 scorers in the league, led by Dylan Wruck (7 goals, 11 assists), Rylan Schwartz (7/10) and Ryon Moser (4/11).
The top scorer is Tomas Sykora with eight goals;
he also owns the plus / minus statistics (plus twelve).
In defense, Max Faber occupies a prominent position.
"He's the best German defender," says Gaudet.
The individual class is also reflected in the special teams.
No team defends better when they are outnumbered (94 percent), only Ravensburg is more effective when they are outnumbered (29.4).
Gaudet did not identify a weak point when studying video: “Frankfurt is a compact team with four strong lines, seven defenders and two top goalkeepers.
Their only weak point could be that they don't take us seriously. "
Also read:
A master between the posts: Tölzer sign Jimmy Hertel
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