Tölzer Löwen: With an unusually solid defense to lead the series
Created: 04/02/2022, 00:16
By: Oliver Rabuser
Goal scorers among themselves: Pascal Aquin (left) and Oliver Ott scored the important goals to give the Tölzer Löwen a 2-0 lead.
Thomas Merl added another goal into the empty goal in the final seconds.
© Oliver Rabuser
DEL 2 Tölzer Löwen make few mistakes in Bayreuth and decide the first game of the relegation round 3-1
Bayreuth/Bad Tölz – It was one of the most important games of the whole season.
It's about survival for the Tölzer Löwen in the DEL 2. And indeed, the Buam decided this match for themselves.
With a 3:1 win at the Bayreuth Tigers they get the advantage in the decisive series.
This Sunday (6.30 p.m.) the Tölzer team can play in their home RSS arena.
Unusually solid defense
The lions started the fateful round as one had hoped: Focused, less prone to errors and without recognizable bus legs.
One or two inaccuracies crept into cross or vertical passes.
But who can blame them after the series against Weißwasser?
Especially since the booster for self-confidence was injected early on: Pascal Aquin put the injection in the form of a strong move.
Not a classic power play hit because he wanted to bring Tölz into the line-up, but drew the parable around the goal with such a large lead that the pawn trick actually went out.
1:0 – the perfect start.
20 seconds later Markus Eberhardt could have topped the scenario, but this time Tigers goalie Timo Herden kept the overview.
On the visitors' side, top scorer Ville Järveläinen shot just wide of the left corner of the goal;
otherwise the Tölz defense presented itself as unusually solid.
Thomas Brandl saw his lions with the "luckier hand in the power play".
Unnecessarily difficult due to frivolous penalty times
During the break, the Upper Franconians searched their cabin for every gram of determination.
At first nothing changed in the score.
Bayreuth messed up a 2-1 situation, a little later Lubor Dibelka couldn't get the puck past Herden after a fine pass from Tyler McNeely.
Nevertheless, the Isarwinkler could have had it easier without careless penalties.
The Tigers didn't set off any fireworks, every now and then the puck slipped just past Josef Hölzl's goal.
Even the crossbar rattled during Kurt Davis' smash.
"We took stupid penalties, but we were also lucky with the puck," commented Kevin Gaudet.
Connection out of the blue
The longer the clock ran, the more contours the tightest of all football results became.
If the encounter hadn't suddenly taken on strange traits.
After Oliver Otts, Tölz steered 2-0 with Karacho towards the opening win.
McNeely spotted the right hand shooter standing in the corner of the gang, direct shot - in.
But then the otherwise sovereign Hölzl didn't pay attention;
the lion backing let a flick from Jan Hudecek pass out of the corner.
No angle, not even a chance to score - just unnecessary because out of the blue.
But things went well.
Bayreuth pulled the goalkeeper early, but Tölz was there.
First Brandl with the failed attempt, then Thomas Merl with the mood bomb - and an almost forgotten status report: Tölz is in front.
Bayreuth Tigers - Tölzer Löwen 1: 3 (0: 1, 0: 0. 1: 2)
Goals: 0:1 (3:39) Aquin (Brandl/Schlager, 5-4), 0:2 (51:16) Ott (McNeely/Dibelka), 1:2 (51:59) Hudecek, 1:3 ( 59:53) Merl (ENG), – Penalty minutes: Bayreuth 6, Tölz 12, – Referee: Klein/Steinbig, – Spectators: 1265