Rhein-Main Patriots: This is how the club is approaching its comeback in the Bundesliga

• OfMichael Nickolaus

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The Rhein-Main Patriots from Assenheim are back in the skate hockey Bundesliga. In focus: an American who was brought from Spain to achieve the goal of staying up.

Cologne and Iserlohn instead of Atting and Spaichingen. Augsburg, Berlin and Essen instead of Langenfeld and Merdingen. The Rhein-Main Patriots are back in the Skaterhockey Bundesliga. The club from Assenheim had already played there from 2011 to 2015. On Saturday (6.30 p.m.) the Wetterauer start the 2022 season; with a home game against last year’s finalists HC Köln Rheinos and the goal of being able to re-establish themselves among the top national clubs in the medium term. »We have new energy, new motivation. And to be honest, the six years in the second division did us good to react to the lessons of relegation and to position ourselves differently as a club,” says Patric Pfannmüller, coach and sporting director of the Patriots.

Flashback: In 2015, the Hessians were relegated. The team was competitive at home, away from home you usually traveled with a small squad, often with the supplementary players, and took a sporting beating. Today, Pfannmüller is sure, the attitude is right, no one is picking the raisins or shying away from away trips. “I’m convinced that we can stay up in the league. We simply put the squad together differently than in 2014 or 2015.«

The staff: The most spectacular newcomer is Ben Pfeifer. The American recently played for the Halcones Torrevieja in Spain. The 25-year-old was offered career prospects in Wetterau, and Pfeifer is also being integrated into youth work. The 20-year-old Boris Kharitonov, who is moving to the Rhine-Main region for professional reasons, last played in the third division, but was able to convince with his potential in the Wetterau. In the goalkeeper position, Christian Kappes (most recently Mannheim) provides another alternative.

In contrast, the end of Christoph Bierschenk’s career is particularly important. He just wants to be available as a last resort. It is unclear when the ailing Alexander Blum and Dennis Berk will be available.

In the course of the season, ice hockey professional Max Faber from the Löwen Frankfurt will play for Assenheim. They are also talking to one or the other candidate,” reveals Pfannmüller. Patriots veterans in the squad are Marcel Patejdl, Christian Unger and Tobias Etzel.

The goal: Relegation comes first. With two relegations in the 911 competition, this means: ninth place. Eighth place would even lead the returnee to the playoffs. »The last two years have not been easy due to the pandemic. It will be important to gain a foothold quickly, to see how quickly other clubs can get back into the game.”

The league: In addition to the 2021 finalists Krefeld and Cologne, Essen, Iserlohn and Augsburg will certainly be fighting for the best playoff position. In the second half of the table, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Bissendorf and Assenheim should fight against relegation.

The Bundesliga has developed representatively within a short period of time. A few years ago, the clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia had shaped the table, in 2022 five federal states are represented first-class.

The parallel start in inline hockey: In the shortened 2021 season, the Rhen-Main Patriots also played for the championship in inline hockey. This related sport is internationally several steps ahead of skater hockey, but nationally it is still in its infancy. Pfannmüller told our editorial team whether the two-track system will also be used this summer.

The Squad: Goal: Jan Bleil, Jannis Wagner, Christian Kappes, Sven Pfeffer. Field: Dennis Berk, Alexander Blum, Niklas Lachmann, Thibault Lambert, Marcel Patejdl, Max Faber, Maximilian Schmidt, Roy Prince, Tobias Etzel, Christian Unger, David Lademann, Sven Mecke, Ben Pfeifer, Felix Frölich, Alexander Schäfer, Marc Langer, Julian Grund, Kilian Rohde, Knut Apel, Christoph Bierschenk, and Stefan Heinrich.

The appointments: March 12 Cologne (H), March 19 Kaarst (A), March 26 Augsburg (A), April 3 Krefeld (A), April 9 Iserlohn (H), April 30 Düsseldorf (H), April 8 May Krefeld (H), May 14 Essen (H), May 15 Cologne (A), May 22 Iserlohn (A), June 11 Berlin (A), June 12 Bissendorf (A), June 18 Duisburg (A), July 9 Augsburg (H), July 17 Duisburg (H), July 23 Düsseldorf (A), August 20 Bissendorf (H), August 27 Berlin (H), September 3 Essen (A ), 10 September Kaarst (H). – Playoff Quarterfinals starting October 5th.

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