In the “Interview of the Week”, the sporting director of the Geretsrieder River Rats, Peter Holdschik, talks about missing eighth place and the prospects for the relegation round
Geretsried – The Geretsried ice hockey team was five points and two places short of the final count of the Bayernliga preliminary round in order to qualify for the top 8 as desired.
With 40 points, the River Rats got their best result since they were promoted again in 2015, which was mainly due to a strong second half of the season (6th place).
ESC Vice Peter Holdschik drew an interim balance in an interview with sports editor Thomas Wenzel.
Mr. Holdschik, how is your mood after not qualifying for the championship round?
I am disappointed and upset.
Where did the team drop the points?
Clearly in the first phase of the season.
We only had two points after five games.
There's no excuse for that - the team screwed up.
The weekend with the defeats against Dorfen and Amberg was also not very creditable ...
Absolutely.
3:4 at home after extra time against Dorfen, then lost 2:4 in Amberg after a 2:2 – we are missing five points.
+
Peter Holdschik, 2nd department head of the ESC Geretsried
© Archive
In addition, the narrow 3:4 defeat in Ulm?
Don't remind me!
I was there myself, after that I couldn't sleep for two days...
The sluggish start coincided with the tenure of coach Stefan Roth. What went wrong?
It wasn't his fault.
We also had a discussion with the team at the time, and nothing negative came of it.
As a young coach, Roth also had his own ideas about tactics and line-up...
In principle, that's good when someone brings new ideas with them.
Could it be the composition of the team?
You are always smarter in hindsight.
It has always been the case that we are generally well positioned.
But you certainly have to think about rejuvenating the squad even more.
After with Hans Tauber jun. a Geretsrieder veteran had taken over, it suddenly worked. How so?
He just did a great job and got through to the team straight away.
Hansi knows the boys and has played with many of them.
But he can also separate private and sporting matters.
What did he do differently?
He played simple ice hockey, which was very effective right away.
And he took care of it because we conceded far too many goals.
Unfortunately, he wasn't really able to repair the lack of goals on the offensive...
That's correct.
It's striking when I see how many shots we fire and how few goals we score.
As a former professional, what tips do you have for strikers?
Clearly - the shots are either too imprecise or too ill-considered.
You have to fool or outplay the opposing goalkeeper beforehand.
After all, there were a whole series of good and successful games...
Correct.
At the beginning of December we won five games in a row – that was strong.
Then the victories in Erding, Schongau and Schweinfurt.
Nevertheless, the ESC only continues in the relegation round. What do you expect from the team?
Of course, that she makes the league perfect as early as possible.
How are the chances?
Good.
On the one hand, we gained self-confidence with the good second half of the season.
And on the other hand, we already have enough experience in the relegation round from previous years (laughs).
How do you rate the competition?
Of course, the other six clubs also want to stay in the Bayernliga, even if two clubs have to be relegated.
But if nothing great happens, we should make it.
Is now the right time to start planning for the coming season?
No, the relegation round must be played first.
But surely you have your ideas for the future? For example, whether Hans Tauber should remain the coach?
It is of course very clear that Hansi will be my first point of contact.
The average age of the team is relatively high at 26 years. Is there a change imminent?
I'll think about that at the end of the season.
Now the relegation round has priority.
