"The new Uli Maurer"

Created: 12/30/2022 10:33 am

By: Patrick Hilmes

“You have to take over for me”: When Simon Mayr (right) fell ill, Luca Allavena went on the defensive – and impressed across the board.

©Andreas Mayr

Pat Cortina, coach of SC Riessersee, compares Luca Allavena with club icon Uli Maurer.

Allavena, who is actually a striker, last played as a defender with the ice hockey league.

Garmisch Partenkirchen – Pierre Pagé, coach and sporting director at EHC Red Bull Munich between 2013 and 2016, once had an idea: 'I'll try Uli Maurer as a defender.'

It worked so well that the veteran of SC Riessersee cleared up and cleared the defense around 20 times during his DEL times at the EHC.

Now coach Pat Cortina has tried something similar at SCR.

He ordered Luca Allavena to the back.

His summary after the three games against Memmingen, Deggendorf and Rosenheim: "Luca is the new Uli Maurer."

Idea born out of necessity

The idea was born out of necessity.

Felix Linden broke his fibula, Ryker Killins is constantly injured and then captain Simon Mayr was sick.

Accordingly, Cortina had to improvise.

In the week before the duel with Memmingen, he trudged into the players' cabin and asked Allavena if he had ever played on the defensive.

The denied.

That's it.

"Just a bit of small talk, nothing more," Allavena recalls.

Completely harmless, but it already dawned on him what the coach was going to do.

"That's what my gut feeling told me." But he only found out immediately before the game against the Indians that he should definitely clean up for goalie Michael Boehm.

Maurer also praises Allavena

Maurer also watched this game on site as often as he could detach himself from his grill.

His verdict: "Luca does it really well.

He's a strong defensive striker anyway and a great skater." Cortina can only agree: "Luca is clever and a team player.

He does everything to help the team.

And he enjoys stopping his opponents.” Accordingly, the coach is toying with the idea of ​​putting Allavena on permanent duty as a defender – as long as the personnel situation allows it.

How much he is already building on the 23-year-old became clear on Wednesday against Rosenheim.

Although Kevin Slezak was missing in the line-up with Lubor Dibelka and Robin Soudek, Cortina didn't order Allavena but Aziz Ehliz on the offensive.

"If Luca continues to play like this, I can absolutely imagine him remaining a defender," says Cortina.

The difference between both players

In this point the comparison with Maurer lags behind.

Because the SCR figurehead is a passionate striker.

He didn't have a problem playing defensively as he always wants to help the team.

But that wouldn't have been permanent for him.

"I don't have a slapshot, then it's no fun from the blue line," he says with a smile.

"In addition, I always have an urge to go forward." Allavena, on the other hand, is hooked on the new position.

"I don't know what I would choose at the moment." It's good for him to have the game in front of him, to be the first link in the build-up, to stop the opposing strikers and to be combative.

It also helps in the event that he should be challenged up front again.

Then he knows both sides, knows better how to think and act as a defender.

And that a prejudice is simply rubbish.

“Strikers always say that defenders have to run less.

I know now that that's not true," emphasizes Allavena with a laugh.

Some question marks in the SCR squad before the game in Bad Tölz

He has to prove himself again today because the next derby is on the agenda.

The Riesserseer are traveling to the Tölzer Löwen for the second time this season.

Allavena naturally wants a repeat of the first appearance this year in the Hacker-Pschorr Arena, as the white-blue defeated the black-yellow 6-1.

It is not yet clear in which position Allavena will play.

Because Dibelka and Moritz Israel are ailing.

Use against Bad Tölz: both questionable.

In addition, none of the most recently missing actors are coming back.

And Cortina also had no information from Munich on Thursday as to whether Sebastian Cimmerman would be going south on Friday.

Tickets for the derby still available

If you don't want to miss the "mother of all derbies" between the Tölzer Löwen and SC Riessersee but don't have a ticket yet, there's good news for you: seated tickets in Bad Tölz are all sold out, but if you don't have a problem with that, you can standing, he can still buy tickets.

Due to the top game surcharge of 2 euros, 16 euros per ticket have to be shelled out.