Between perplexity and anticipation – EHC Freiburg

Ice hockey second division EHC Freiburg is preparing for the Corona season. 2020 is little like it used to be. Wolves trainer Peter Russell about a season of uncertainty.

One can hear Peter Russell’s perplexity a little. Early on Wednesday morning, the 46-year-old head coach of the second division ice hockey club EHC Freiburg tried to process the ambivalent news of the past few days: “I don’t know how things will go from here, we have to wait and pretend everything is going according to plan.”

Trapped in uncertainty, the Scot wants to prepare his team for the coming season. According to the plan, it starts Friday the week after next with a home game against the Heilbronner Falken. If the pandemic doesn’t get in the way. It has been barely a week since the EHC announced that advance ticket sales were open. At that time the plan was to have up to 1000 fans.

But in times of exponential growth, a week can be worlds apart. The test match against the Löwen Frankfurt on Tuesday evening took place under a committee of the public. In the end, it was 1: 2 against the EHC. “The Lions are a good team. We did well,” said Russell afterwards. But more important was the realization that the wolves will hardly be allowed to appear in front of an audience in the Echte-Helden-Arena. Due to a corona case in the Bavarian area, the test match in Memmingen was canceled this Sunday.

In general, everything is different at the EHC in the pandemic year. First, Russell’s arrival in Germany was postponed several times. All courses for the British national team that Russell coaches have also been canceled. Originally, he should have come in July to lead the team in preparation. A short time later it became August and finally at the end of September.

Back in his sporting home, Russell then encountered a new world in terms of training: “We train in three groups, have three different changing rooms, masks, temperature measurements, hand disinfection: all of this has become everyday training,” says the coach.

The league has also changed significantly due to Corona. “The level will be much higher,” predicts Russell. Since it is uncertain whether and how the season in the top German division DEL will go (kick-off in December at the earliest), the players from the upper house pour into DEL 2, where they hope to gain match practice. Russell is nevertheless confident: “Our team is a bit stronger on paper than last year. We are a team for the top half.” And that, although offensive strength Luke Pither is no longer part of the squad. With 21 goals and 41 assists, the 31-year-old Canadian was one of the guarantors for a surprising third place last season. Although he had a contract for the coming season, he has not returned to Breisgau.

“Because of all the uncertainty in the world, I finally decided to stay at home,” Pither announced at the end of September. At the time, CEO Werner Karlin complained: “In a team sport, it is never easy to replace a player shortly before the start of the season. Especially not when he shows the human and playful qualities of Luke Pither.”

Two weeks ago, the wolves reported replacements. The 32-year-old Swede Andreé Hult is set to become Pither’s legacy. In Germany, the striker has already turned for Schwenningen. He also gained experience in Russia and Sweden. Coach Russell is satisfied with the newcomer: “In Schwenningen he was a top player and had consistently good playing times.”

Together with Nick Pageau (32), Scott Allen (30) and Cam Spiro (28), Russell sees his team well positioned in the foreigner positions. The only sporting concern at the moment: “We have too many failures,” the coach complained. Last week alone, Russell had to do without three important players in Chris Billich, Nick Pageau and Cam Spiro.

That’s why he predicts a season “in which we always have to deal with uncertainties.” The anticipation is still great. Russell hopes that his perplexity will soon turn into the emotion of the start of the season.

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