Halle (Saale) –
It is the search for the golden balance that has been driving Ryan Foster as coach of the Saale Bulls for some time now. Last season, it was the vulnerable defense that cost the Austro-Canadians a lot of nerves. Now he says that “the defense is very, very good. That’s a huge increase. ”But the 46-year-old is still not satisfied. Because “we don’t score goals”. Something is always.
This new imbalance could be observed excellently on Sunday in Erfurt. The Bulls won 1-0 with a last-minute goal from Finn Tatu Vihavainen. A result that would have made iconic football coach Huub Stevens happy with his penchant for zero, which must always be there, but that hardly sparked enthusiasm in ice hockey. You want to see goals here. After all, more than 60 shots are often fired in a single game here. In Erfurt there were 69.
Saale Bulls coach is satisfied with the attitude
Ryan Foster was then only partially satisfied in his assessment of what had been seen. He liked the way his team worked this weekend after the very weak 4-0 in the derby against Leipzig a week ago. “The attitude was great, even against Herne.” The Bulls lost 2-1 to the season favorites on Friday evening after extra time. Only two goals conceded that “fits”, as Foster likes to assess things.
But the two own hits don’t fit. “We have a lot of great opportunities, but we don’t use them,” says Foster, who is an active goal-scorer himself and describes the problem.
Saale Bulls with the second weakest offensive in the league
Which can be backed up with numbers. The Bulls have only scored 2.71 goals per game so far. After promoted Hamm (1.57) the second worst value in the league. The reason for this: Only 6.4 percent of the shots find their way to the target. Here, too, only Hamm (5.98 percent) is worse.
The graduation problem is also evident in overpowering situations. In Erfurt, the Bulls did not use one of the six power play phases for a hit. Over the season, only 9.1 percent of the majority situations lead to a goal. Only the Tilburg Trappers (7.7 percent) are worse here. “We train a lot of power play,” says Foster, not for the first time this season. “We’d better get the pane in front of the goal, but we want to make it too beautiful. There is a lack of hunger and focus. ”Not just in excess.
Halle is strong on defense
Quite different on the defensive. The Bulls only concede 2.43 goals per game. That is the second best value after Tilburg (1.71). The outnumbered game is also excellent. The Bulls survive 88.9 percent of situations without conceding a goal. Only Erfurt, the opponent on Sunday, is better with a success rate of 97.1 percent.
The Bulls’ focus on fewer goals, both in training and in the composition of the squad, pays off. Workers like Tim May came in the summer, and Valtteri Hotakainen from Finland also filled a contingent position with a focus on better defensive stability. “Hotakainen is not an offensive hit like Nick Miglio or Chris Francis were,” says Foster, referring to last season’s import players. “But he’s a real role model, gives 100 percent with every change, works backwards.” And is such a big factor in the strong defensive.
Worker Tim May is the Bulls’ best scorer
Nevertheless: Foster strives for a balance between strong defensive and offensive. To do this, the Bulls have to be more accurate. The coach has a particular focus on players like Lukas Valasek, Sergej Stas and Vihavainen. “They can all score more goals,” says Foster. Whereby Vihavainen is not yet at 100 percent after muscular problems. It is significant that Tim May is the team’s best scorer so far with three goals and four assists. After all, the 29-year-old stands out primarily with his disciplined defensive work. Or mostly not because of that.
In order to liven up the mixed offensive, Foster has already made changes to the composition of the series. Unlike at the beginning of the season, the two Finnish import players are no longer running in a row, but Hotakainen in row one and Vihavainen in row two. “I wanted to bring a breath of fresh air into it and it worked better in combination,” says Foster.
But the yield is still missing. For the coach, it’s mainly a question of his head: “We need a game in which we score four or five goals. Then the self-confidence comes back and it works better again ”, Foster is convinced. That could work on Friday in Krefeld. In their first game against the bottom of the table, the Bulls scored ten goals, more than half of their 19 goals so far.
Captain Kai Schmitz one week late for the anniversary?
Then maybe there again: Kai Schmitz. The captain should have played his 500th game for Halle in Erfurt. During the game against Herne, however, he got a shot from teammate Eric Wunderlich on the elbow. “Nothing is broken, just a severe bruise,” says Foster. Kyle Helms (upper jaw injury after a shot in the face) and Finn Walkowiak (muscular problems) are still missing. (mz)
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