The second division ice hockey club from Crimmitschau ended the main round with a defeat in Bad Nauheim and a win against Regensburg. This puts you in eleventh place. How does it go from here?
The relegation battle for the Eispiraten Crimmitschau begins on March 15th. The West Saxons have to compete against the Tigers Bayreuth in the play-downs. The series is held in “best of seven” mode. That means: The team that has won four games first, manages to stay up in the German Ice Hockey League 2 (DEL 2). The loser has to play against Heilbronn or Selb in a second round.
The Eispiraten professionals missed the chance to regain self-confidence for the play-downs on Sunday evening. They only secured a lackluster 3-1 (1-1, 0-0, 2-0) victory in the last third in their home game against the Eisbären Regensburg, for whom it was practically nothing anymore. Patrick Pohl gave his team the lead in the second minute after a cross pass from André Schietzold. Shortly before the first break, the polar bears were able to equalize with a long-range shot through Lukas Wagner. In the goalless second half, both teams missed top-class chances in front of 1622 spectators: Nikola Gajovsky failed at Ice Pirates keeper Ilya Sharipov (30th). Timo Gams only hit the side netting after a pass from Filip Reisnecker (38′). In the last third Dominic Walsh (46th) and André Schietzold (47th) were successful for the home side. Walsh dusted from close range. Schietzold scored from a central position.
The last chance to still make the pre-play-offs was missed on Friday evening with a 2:3 (0:1, 1:1, 1:0, 0:1) after extra time away at EC Bad Nauheim. Ice Pirates captain Patrick Pohl did not cut a good figure at the decisive goal. He let opponent Mick Köhler go, who was able to score unhindered. “We had enough chances in regular time to be able to decide the game,” says Ice Pirates coach Jussi Tuores, who also has the confidence of those responsible in the play-downs. The 33-year-old was promoted from assistant to head coach in mid-February after Marian Bazany split. (court)
Crimmitschau – Regensburg 3:1 (1:1, 0:0, 2:0). Goals: 1-0 Pohl (2nd), 1-1 Wagner (19th), 2-1 Walsh (46th), 3-1 Schietzold (47th). Penalty minutes: Crimmitschau 4, Regensburg4. Referee: Lajoie/Bauer. Viewers: 1622.
