New puzzle game

Created: 02/12/2022, 19:24

By: Patrick Hilmes

Who occupies the empty seat in the row next to Alexander Höller?

After the departure of Lukas Koziol, coach Pat Cortina has not yet made a decision.

But Tobias Kircher is a possible variant.

© ANDREAS MAYR

Two players left the SC Riessersee ice hockey league at short notice.

Coach Pat Cortina is still working on the conversion measures in rows.

In addition, the transfer market does not give much.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen –

The past few weeks have not gone according to plan for SC Riessersee.

Three bankruptcies in a row and slipping down to fifth place in the table of the ice hockey Oberliga Süd was followed on Thursday by the announcement that the club had terminated two player contracts – from Lukas Koziol and Simon Gerstmeir – with immediate effect.

That should have been it, now the SCR wants to write positive headlines again.

The first chance for this is on Sunday, when the bottom of the league, EHC Klostersee, is welcomed at the Olympic ice sports center.

Koziol has already found a new club

But you can't hide the events of this week so quickly, as it was said by those close to the club that the relationship between Koziol and Pat Cortina wasn't the best.

The coach speaks of a pleasant relationship on his part.

"I treated him like any other player." It's never a good thing when a player runs away in the middle of the season, "but if he doesn't want to be here, then it's better that way."

Seemed similar to Koziol and had been that way for a long time.

On Thursday evening he made his way north and signed a new contract with the Hanover Scorpions.

According to reports, the North Oberliga club should only be a transitional station for Koziol.

Does Cortina dissolve the top scorer series?

At SCR, this departure definitely means that a place has become vacant alongside Alexander Höller.

The coach does not yet know whether Cortina will completely reassemble his ranks.

The thought of dissolving the top scorer series with Lubor Dibelka, Robin Soudek and Kevin Slezak also appeared in his head.

After all, a balanced line-up is required.

But the thought didn't solidify.

"I probably won't do that." On the other hand, Tobias Kircher is a variant alongside Höller.

Cortina hasn't made up her mind yet.

Rather, he wants to see how the remaining players react to Koziol's departure.

After all, every offensive player now gets more ice time.

No pressure when looking for a striker

At least as long as the SCR has not found a new striker on the transfer market.

But the prospects for a quick replacement are not very rosy.

Managing director Pana Christakakis says that there are only a few players at the premier league level without a contract, "no 50".

And then one of them would have to fit into the requirement profile of the white-blue.

It would be easier if you could hire a foreign attacker.

But the three contingent positions are occupied by Soudek, Ryker Killins and Ville Hyvärinen.

The only chance: Killins still gets his German passport.

But in this case there are no new water level reports.

Doesn't mean that those responsible are now panicking.

"I don't go around with my cell phone and tell every agent, 'Please, please get in touch,'" emphasizes Christakakis.

you ask around

explore the market and will strike at an attractive offer.

If the search is unsuccessful - that's okay too.

"We're not under pressure, we don't have to use force.

The quality is also there.”

Warning of EHC Klostersee without a win

Cortina sees it the same way.

He doesn't invest his energy in finding a player, but in developing the team.

The last faltered, but the coach is convinced that he will see the next step in the right direction on Sunday against Klostersee.

In particular, because the training performance on Friday - in contrast to the previous week - was very good.

"I have a much better feeling." At the same time, he also warns about the still winless bottom group.

“Eventually they will win.

If we don't take the opponent seriously enough, we get into trouble.” That's generally the case.

Nevertheless, Cortina also knows: If the SCR finds its way back to its game, "then we should win against Klostersee".