By Aline Chatel
Published on 10 Oct 20 at 10:41
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Where is the Hockey Club of Caen a few hours away from his first league game? “Late”, slices Captain Pierre-Antoine Devin without taking tweezers. Deprived of training for two weeks, for some of them, in the middle of a summer camp, the Drakkars found on Saturday October 3, 2020 that they were not ready as they would have liked to be. The reception of Cholet in the Coupe de France ended in an early elimination. A week later, this Saturday, October 10, 2020, the two teams meet in the league. And Caen, penalized by an episode of Covid in the heart of September, recognizes “deficiencies from a technical, tactical and especially cardio point of view. ”
Not the optimal shape
The physique, usual strong point of Caen hockey players, could not be worked on as much as expected during the pre-season. This inevitably affects the game. Pierre-Antoine Devin: “We ran a lot after the puck in the cup, it burned out too much energy. We take four goals on puck losses, mistakes that we didn’t make last year. It’s up to us to be vigilant. “
Adapt the way of playing
While waiting for more optimal conditions, Caen must adapt his game. “We will have to play as simply as possible. We are not going there to put on a show but to take three points. You have to be efficient. There is no question of taking refuge behind any excuse. “Risks, everyone has them. The HCC always has the advantage of having a group which knows each other well and which normally masters the game plan adopted by its coach.
We haven’t revolutionized anything. Last year, we relied on a thunderous start to the season. If you want to be on the podium, you have to start in the same way. Afterwards, it is played in the heads.
Caen will be expected at the top of the standings, since it was last season, but be careful not to be too ambitious. “It’s never good to say to yourself: we have to be champions. It’s present in everyone’s mind, but it’s through the pleasure of playing and being together that we have succeeded in performing. ”
“It’s not the same championship anymore”
Forced to end his season with a brilliant qualification in the semifinals of the playoffs, Caen dreams of ending the story. Caution is needed, however. ” Reality has changed, warns “Pitch”. The teams have changed. It’s not the same championship. There are presidents who paid attention (to the context), others a little less. It redistributes all the cards a little bit. “Caen is one of the clubs that have not tempted the devil in the uncertainties of the moment. The club were unwilling to replace their top scorer last season, Igor Halas. But Caen already had the least prolific attack of D1 …
Everyone has to take responsibility, find a scoring mentality even if it is not their own at the start. No one will be able to hide. Everyone has to try to score like a block shot. Everyone has to do everything here, that’s how it is. It’s a special type of team.
The Drakkars know the recipe perfectly well. They turned it into a delicious dish last season. It is up to them to bring out the same ingredients, full of freshness and desire, to be part of the continuity.
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