ESC: The biggest chunk comes first

Created: 06/01/2023 15:32

Back in the game against Königsbrunn: Benedikt May (left) got over his illness.

© Hans Lippert

Final sprint in the Bavarian league: Geretsrieder River Rats start on Friday at home against the favored EHC Königsbrunn

Geretsried – The Geretsried ice hockey team still has four games to play in the first half of the Bayernliga season.

A clear number to enter eighth place with at least three wins and jump on the train to the championship round.

The problem: The four dates span the whole of January, the River Rats only play one match each weekend.

"The remaining days are free of games because there is an odd number of clubs or they have been kept free for catch-up games," explains Hans Tauber jun.

The ESC coach is by no means happy with this constellation: "I have to keep my boys happy, make sure we don't lose focus." didn't go so well, you could iron it out again in the second.

Or you took the euphoria with you from a successful Friday game.”

The problem in the Bayernliga final sprint: "We don't have the qualification for the championship round in our own hands because the direct competition sometimes has two games less," says Tauber, looking at the table neighbors Erding, Kempten, Ulm and Schweinfurt.

The River Rats will have to deal with the latter in two weeks – the other opponents are Schongau, Peißenberg and EHC Königsbrunn, who will be visiting the Heinz-Schneider-Stadion on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"This is undoubtedly the biggest chunk," says the ESC coach.

The third-placed team has enormous offensive potential thanks to last year's Augsburg DEL striker Marco Sternheimer (54 points), Latvian Tom Prokopovics (30 points) and tried-and-tested attackers Tim Bullnheimer and Hayden Trupp.

In addition, Stefan Vajs, a long-time DEL 2 goalkeeper, is in the box.

Most recently, coach Robert Linke's team won against Waldkraiburg 6:5 after a penalty shoot-out, having previously been 6:1 against Erding.

In the first leg, the River Rats lost 3-5 to the Penguins.

"Koenigsbrunn will certainly not come to us like Pfaffenhofen recently to get in the back," Tauber believes.

For the hosts, it is therefore a matter of "stopping their build-up as early as possible".

Tactically, they came up with something to trip up the favorites.

"If we want to be in the top 8, the prerequisite is that we start the new year with a home win," emphasizes the ESC coach.

There is still a question mark over the use of the ailing Daniel Merl and Bernhard Jorde (in advanced training).

The regulars Martin Köhler, Martin Morczinietz and Benedikt May, who were recently ill, are back in the game.