Dhe semi-finals of the play-offs in the second German ice hockey league (DEL2) will be played between Hesse and Baden-Württemberg. The lions easily defeated EHC Freiburg in four games and are now playing against the Heilbronner falcons. The first game will take place this Thursday (7:30 p.m.) in Frankfurt.
The EC Bad Nauheim, on the other hand, made it more exciting in the Hessen derby series. Only in the seventh game did the Red Devils beat the Kassel Huskies away 7:3 on Tuesday evening. The series was overshadowed by misconduct by Kassel goalkeeper Jerry Kuhn. After the fifth game of the series in Kassel, which Bad Nauheim won 3-2, he attacked a spectator in the guest area. After that, the huskies wouldn’t let him compete again. The Bad Nauheimer now meet the Ravensburg Towerstars in the semifinals. Ravensburg finished the main round in third place, Nauheim in fifth.
Frankfurt’s opponent Heilbronn surprisingly prevailed against the Dresden ice lions. The final game of the series was followed by Löwen sports director Franz-David Fritzmeier on site last Sunday. “Dresden also had the chance to win this series, but the momentum was on the Heilbronn side,” he said.
The opponents from Baden-Württemberg had been known to the lions for a long time. The Frankfurt head coach Bohuslav Subr was able to tactically prepare his team well for Heilbronn. The lions see another advantage in the longer regeneration time of their players. “Every game means a lot of stress that can lead to injuries,” says Fritzmeier. The sports director does not reveal whether all of the previously injured players will be able to play again in the semifinals. Kyle Sonnenburg, Bobby Raymond and Ryon Moser are currently out.
The Heilbronn Falcons, on the other hand, are better at the rhythm of the game. Fritzmeier praises the opponent: “If they had been complete throughout the season, they would have ended up among the top six teams in the league.” Heilbronn has been cooperating with Adler Mannheim, one of the best German ice hockey clubs, since 2018. The advantage of this is that they can loan out many talented players who haven’t yet made it into the premier league. However, the Adler brought some of these players back in the current season when there was a shortage of personnel in the first division squad.
Well-known play-off atmosphere could set in at the Eissporthalle am Ratsweg from the second home game against Heilbronn on Monday (7.30 p.m.). Then the lions will be allowed to sell all available tickets again, and there will no longer be a mask requirement or other access restrictions.
