An international class ice hockey festival in Erding
Created: 04/21/2022, 13:00
By: Wolfgang Krzizok
The U9 puck hunters like Erdinger Luis Hettenkofer (l.) were quick as lightning on the ice.
© Thomas Karl
TSV Erding creates the perfect setting for 400 puck hunters from Germany and the Czech Republic
Erding – What a way to end the season: 400 children in 20 junior ice hockey teams fought for the Young Gladiators Trophy over three days and three tournaments in the Stadtwerke Erding Arena over three days over the Easter weekend.
Skoda Pilsen (U 9), EHC Klostersee (U 11) and EHC Nuremberg (U 13) were allowed to take the winner's trophies home.
The ice hockey department of TSV Erding organized the Young Gladiators Trophy for the first time.
The numerous voluntary helpers had their hands full to ensure that everything ran smoothly, and not just with the organization and catering.
The U11 puck hunters from TSV Erding were proud of second place.
© Thomas Karl
The TSV managers had also put together a varied supporting program.
In addition to a raffle, table ice hockey, a cinema corner and a shooting speed measurement, the children could try their hand at the PlayStation at NHL 22 and win a PlayStation 5 by throwing the puck.
But of course the focus was on sport and it was remarkable what the little ice choppers can do.
Janine Krzizok, sports officer of the city of Erding and once active at TSV with the very young and small schoolchildren, opened the tournament weekend and emphasized the importance of youth work in Erding.
And she was able to see for herself how great it is at Erdinger Eishockey.
The U9s started with eight teams, six of which were DEL and DEL 2 youth teams, one with Skoda Pilsen from the Czech Republic and the host.
Erding, Krefeld, Pilsen and Augsburg advanced to the final round.
There was a great atmosphere in the stadium, especially when the Young Gladiators managed to defeat Pilsen with 4:2 goals.
It was the first defeat ever suffered by the Czech team in a competition in Germany.
Nevertheless, Pilsen clinched the trophy with two wins because Erding lost to Krefeld (2:4) and Augsburg (0:3) and finally had to settle for third place, level on points with Krefeld.
Augsburger EV came in second, losing 3-1 to Pilsen and also having the poorer goal difference.
Fifth was Bad Nauheim ahead of Freiburg, Bietigheim and Ingolstadt.
The award ceremony was carried out by DEB General Secretary Claus Gröbner and former national goalkeeper Dimitri Pätzold.
The hosts were very enthusiastic because the eight coaches had voted Marcel Forsch from Erding as the best goalkeeper and Leo Steffen as the best player.
The trophies that the gladiators created for the teams are more beautiful than any handle pot.
© Wolfgang Krzizok
There was a special feature at the U13 tournament, which was played on a large field.
With the team Girlseishockey.de, which has its headquarters in Hammelburg and contests tournaments all over Germany, a girls' team made up of different locations was at the start.
The squad ended up in fifth place after beating Königsbrunn 6-0.
The winner was the DEL offspring of the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, who defeated Wanderers Germering 4:3 after a penalty shoot-out in the final.
In the match for third place, EV Lindau won 4:1 against host Erding.
The final was the U11 tournament with six teams, which was also played on a large pitch.
After Erding defeated Deggendorfer SC 14:11 in the highest-scoring game of the tournament weekend and EHC Klostersee had the upper hand 7:2 against the Darmstadt Dukes, the derby in the final was perfect.
However, it was noticeable that the Young Gladiators were not able to field the full squad due to the holiday, and so Klostersee managed a clear 8:3 win.
Deggendorf, Darmstadt, HC Landsberg and ESV giving Bach, who had to admit defeat in the match for fifth place 4:8, landed on the other places.
Erding's head of ice hockey, Michael Westphal, promised a new edition of the Young Gladiators Trophy at the award ceremony.
There was a lot of applause for that.