The coach formulated the warning shortly before Christmas: “We can’t keep killing ourselves with big mistakes,” said Matti Tiilikainen, head coach of the Löwen Frankfurt, when asked by the FAZ at a press conference: “Then we can regain our momentum But just such a big mistake has left the Lions Frankfurt in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) for the fifth game in a row without winning a point.
The bitter punchline: This mistake wasn’t made by any player, but by Carter Rowney. So the experienced and otherwise so ripped off striker who has already lifted the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League (NHL) and who led the Lions so confidently last season that his long-term contract extension up to and including the 2025/26 season only seemed logical.
Goal conceded 3.4 seconds before the end
It was 2-2 in the game against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg on Wednesday evening until shortly before the end when the 34-year-old had the puck stolen in his own half. Wolfsburg scored the game-winning goal to make it 3-2 with 3.4 seconds left. The scene from the Wolfsburg game is part of the Lions’ worst phase in terms of results since they were promoted back to league one: nine of the last ten games were lost.
The frustration was noticeably noticeable after the new defeat. Defender Reid McNeill scowled as he was named player of the game, striker Cody Kunyk said cautiously on streaming provider MagentaSport: “It stinks how this game ended, but we have to take the positive things with us.”
David Lindenfeld, Frankfurt Published/Updated: David Lindenfeld Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Valentin Teufel Published/Updated:
There were quite a few of them – especially in the second third. Head coach Tiilikainen also saw it this way: “I have seen better lions than in the past few weeks. We have found something in the team that we were missing before,” he said, after there had been a lengthy discussion between the team, coaching team and sports director Franz-David Fritzmeier before the turn of the year.
In comparison to the clear 4-0 defeat at the bottom of the table Iserlohn, the Lions presented themselves as a more united team and did not give up the game without giving up. All the statistics from the Wolfsburg game prove this: The Lions shot at the opponent’s goal more often, stayed away from the penalty box for all but two minutes and won more face-offs. But that wasn’t enough to win either.
New defender could come
A new defender could help improve things. The club announced that it was looking for another defensive player. But for now we can probably go on without it. The DEL’s tight schedule can be an advantage or a disadvantage: On the one hand, weak results can be quickly corrected. But negative series and external pressure factors can affect a team in a much shorter time than in sports with fewer games.
What the Lions coach wanted for his team last year fully applies to Frankfurt’s upcoming opponent on Friday (7.30 p.m.). The penguins from Bremerhaven hardly make any mistakes and are in second place in the table. The team will then face Munich. It doesn’t get any easier for the lions.
