Sa pained face betrayed everything. It was the first third of the game against Bremerhaven last Friday when Dominik Bokk from Frankfurt was down and will probably be out for a little longer. And so on Sunday, when looking at the line-up of the Frankfurt Löwen against Wolfsburg, even the boldest optimists who had still hoped for a match were disappointed to state that the Löwen attacker with the best points was missing, who had thrown himself into the Gang had injured his right shoulder. No bokk. No points?
Sports director Franz-David Fritzmeier explained during a media round before the weekend that you have to play smarter – he’s been saying that for weeks. In the recent past, coach Gerry Fleming’s team had not been able to show consistently good performances over 60 minutes. “We need better system-tactical discipline. And the players have to use their energy properly again,” demanded Fritzmeier.
rows rearranged
But after the progress that the team had shown in terms of cleverness in the 1-2 in Bremerhaven, at least the first third of Sunday’s 4-3 win against Wolfsburg at home was a step backwards. The effort was right – as so often in the past few weeks. But the few mistakes that Frankfurt made were used by Wolfsburg in the style of a top team: At 0: 1 it was a penalty from defender Kevin Maginot, at 0: 2 the neutral zone was too carelessly left to the opponent, and at 0: 3 before the own goal not defended consistently enough.
The absence of strikers Bokk and Dylan Wruck prompted Fleming to mix up the ranks. Carter Rowney didn’t play with Brendan Ranford, which should spread the scoring threat more evenly across the ranks. The changes paid off. With their great commitment, which has carried them through the entire season, and an improved offensive game, the Frankfurters fought back again: The recovered Brett Breitkreuz, whom the team had sorely missed, scored with a majority to make it 1:3 (31st minute ).
Chad Nehring (51st) and Carson McMillan (53rd) made it 3: 3 – and the new goalkeeper Callum Booth, who only landed in Frankfurt on Thursday and replaced the hapless Jake Hildebrand after the first half, held everyone at the back so placed shot.
In the last minute it was McMillan again, who was released nicely and with his winning goal should have set a new volume record in the ice rink this season. “The atmosphere was fantastic. Like in the play-offs,” said coach Fleming: “The hockey gods were with us today.” And so it was at least on this Sunday: no Bokk. No problem!
Signal effect after the spectacle
With their brilliant comeback, the lions still have every chance of reaching the pre-play-offs – despite only four wins from 13 games this calendar year. Should the Lions miss the finals, it would be upsetting given the additional revenue opportunities that could then not be realised. But as a climber it would be tolerable. “If we’re back where we are now next year, that’s very okay,” Fritzmeier said before the weekend: “If two get down and one comes up, the league will get even tighter.” As long as there’s no planning security with the new arena and no main sponsor, the financial leeway is not as great as with many other clubs.
The signal effect of what the lions gave to the spectators on the way home after the spectacle could be all the more important: that the sports director has already managed a first coup in planning for the new season. As the club announced, Carter Rowney, who won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017, has extended his contract with the Hessen team for another year. This could also persuade others to stay.
The sports director has long been working on the squad of the future, which will probably continue to play out for the lions in the first class of German ice hockey. Still missing a few points to stay in the first division. However, he shouldn’t be in danger anymore, since Augsburg are 21 points behind after the defeat in Berlin with ten games left. This is important for the contract talks. They “run”, says Fritzmeier: “With some players we are already very far.” The goal is to close the gap between the first and the back rows. “We are currently very dependent on our first row,” says Fritzmeier, who wants to strengthen the center position in the second row, among other things.
The basic framework should be in place earlier than in previous years. But with so many transfers, you may have to wait a little longer in order to be able to present the best possible solution. “We’re not going to get a signing like Carter Rowney’s every year. If we want to sign top players for an affordable price, we have to be patient,” says Fritzmeier.
