Tölzer Löwen: liberation in goal mood
Created: 03/05/2022, 23:40
By: Oliver Rabuser
Strong game by returnee Seppi Hölzl in Tölzer Tor – here against Marco Pfleger and Sahir Gill.
Maxi Leitner (middle) tries to support.
© Oliver Rabuser
The Tölzer Löwen secured twelfth place with a strong 7:4 win against Landshut.
Bad Tölz – That was not to be expected after the past two weeks: The Tölzer Löwen landed a colossal liberation against EV Landshut of all places and presented themselves in the best goal mood with the 7:4 win on Saturday.
After six defeats in a row, the coach's despondency also eased somewhat.
"We really needed the win to boost our self-confidence," commented Kevin Gaudet.
The lions have already secured home rights in the first round of play-downs because the Lausitzer Foxes played on the spot in Ravensburg.
In the race for eleventh place, which would also guarantee the advantage in front of their home crowd in a second elimination, the Bayreuth Tigers gained an advantage by winning in Crimmitschau.
A Tölzer victory in Selb on Monday alone would still change the order in favor of the Isarwinkler.
Liberation in goal mood
It was an offensive spectacle over long stretches.
The first part of the game alone justified every single cent of the entrance fee.
The Buam started with a clearly formulated declaration of intent towards eleventh place in the table.
Cam Spiro overcame EVL goalie Olafr Schmidt when the visitors chose the worst possible moment to change ranks.
Moments later, Spiro was prevented from scoring on the verge of legality.
Instead of extensive complaints, Tölz responded on a sporting level.
Landshut again with bad timing when changing personnel, Lubor Dibelka with a strong move, and Maximilian Leitner following up to make it 2-0.
And before the guests knew it, the puck was behind Schmidt again.
This time Pascal Aquin hit the crossbar with a brilliant bang.
Landshut takes a break and Schmidt from the ice
Immediately before the game, Landshut's coach Heiko Vogler was still convinced that his team's performance was much more conspicuous than in the three home defeats last week.
But far from it: Vogler felt compelled to take a break – and Schmidt off the ice.
"He's not to blame, that should be a wake-up call to the team," explains the former DEL 2 defender.
From then on, Landshut did not play significantly stronger, but Lower Bavaria still scored the goal.
Robin Weihager took advantage of Tom Horschel's violation of the rules with one of his notorious high-speed projectiles.
There was - unlike in all previous goal approaches of the guests - for Josef Hölzl nothing to stop.
Extremely focused and combative
Somewhat surprisingly, Hölzl was already between the posts again – and stopped as if there had been no corona disease at all.
Namely very strong.
The Tölzers were wide awake that evening, extremely focused, but above all combative.
After two icings by the EVL, Markus Eberhardt brought the disc in front of the goal, where Thomas Brandl was able to deflect decisively – 4:1.
Landshut's second goal, however, enraged the fans in the stands.
Not because he was tagged by ex-lion Marco Pfleger;
but because Leitner was clearly hampered and slowed down in the headlock of a guest player in the development.
The Tölzers protested briefly, then there was another match on the ice: Tyler McNeely defeated Schmidt substitute Dimitri Pätzold with a pawn trick to make it 5:2.
And now the Buam decided to follow suit.
Brandl with the dream pass to Aquin, who with the skillful conclusion by Pätzold's schooner - 6:2.
"A tough pill," admits Vogler.
In the second break it was over for Pätzold.
When Stephan Kronthaler fouled McNeely before the fifth goal, the veteran collided with Tölzer in the neck area.
"Precautionary measure" gave Vogler the all-clear.
Thomas Merl redeems the lions
Landshut did not give up despite the high deficit.
After all, on Wednesday in Heilbronn it's all about the play-off participation.
The lions were unscathed for half a third of the final period, but then it really got exciting again.
Dominik Bohac did not consistently decide between target leader and communicator.
Max Forster shortened, and according to video evidence, it was suddenly only 6:4 thanks to Benedikt Brückner.
The tremors in the stands increased.
Especially when Vogler took Schmidt off the ice and risked everything.
But then Thomas Merl redeemed his lions with a clever lob from almost the greatest possible distance into the empty goal.
Tölzer Löwen - EV Landshut 7: 4 (3: 1; 3: 1; 1: 2)
Goals: 1-0 (0-50) Spiro (McNeely);
2-0 (7:55) Leitner (Dibelka/Brady, 5-4);
3:0 (9:13) Aquinas (Eberhardt/Brandl);
3:1 (18:37) Weihager (Martens, 5-4);
4: 1 (20:52) Brandl (Eberhardt/Bohac);
4:2 (29:18) nurse;
5-2 (33-15) McNeely (Aquinas/Dibelka, 5-4);
6: 2 (37:08) Aquinas (Leitner/Brandl), 6: 3 (48:46) Forster (Mikyska), 6: 4 (54:25) Brückner (Mikyska/Alderson), 7: 4 (59:02 ) Merl (Leitner), – Penalty minutes: Tölz 2, Landshut 8, – Referee: Brill/Singer, – Spectators: 1135.
