Kimmo Vallema blogs about his floorball experiences in Germany. Want to know more about him? Click here to read his introduction article.
It was time for the second round in the first Bundesliga this past weekend. All the signs were already in the air before this weekend and the last round did nothing but reinforce the image that we’re up for a very different type of season.
READ – Round 1 German Bundesliga
Empty net with seven minutes left leads to big loss DJK Holzbüttgen (11-5)
In Holzbüttgen it was the perennial medalists UHC Weißenfels that came to visit. The game was hard-fought, even if it at times reminded me of a Greco-roman wrestling meet where occasionally a floorball-match broke out. The game was very physical throughout and it was the special-teams (powerplay/shorthand units) that largely set the end result. As Weißenfels was leading through the game it was DJK that was left chasing. This forced DJK to take out their goalie as there was still good 7 minutes left in the game. This proved to be costly as UHC punished the hosts with 2 empty netters. The end result 11-5 for the guests.
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Schriesheim – Wernigerode (4-3)
Whereas the hosts were perhaps hoping a little more, in Schriesheim it was surely nervous times as they hosted “the other” team to frequent the play-offs over the years, Wernigerode. The Red Devils have had a shaky start to the season with Renew Cup and clear loss to Chemnitz in the first round. This they were certainly hoping to improve on as they traveled to Schriesheim to deliver their “welcome back to the first league” to the hosting team. Red Devils certainly got off to a flying start by scoring only 59 seconds into the game. It was only towards the end of the first period when Schriesheim scored their equalizer.
The second period saw the hosts delivering the same treatment to the guests what they themselves got in the first period. After only 42 seconds, they took the lead with help from Adrian Braune. Some 10 minutes it was Schriesheim again and suddenly Wernigerode was 2 behind chasing again. With some 3 minutes in the period, they clawed one back and managed to get to the break with only 1 behind at 3-2. As the third period started, it was only 1 minute old as Schriesheim got a 5min penalty. This allowed Wernigerode to apply pressure on the hosts and did manage to draw even only after 3 minutes into the period. As the period got into it’s 14th minute it was the hosts again taking the lead leaving Red Devils in a difficult position again. The numbers, however, did not change anymore and it was the newly promoted team that took the points. How they managed to still get a 10min penalty after the game is unknown to me…but perhaps I will find out next week as we (DJK) travel to Wernigerode and I can ask.
Piranhhas Hamburg beat reigning champion (12-8)
The Piranhhas in Hamburg have certainly had a flying start to the season as they beat DJK in the first round by 7-4. The challenge was about to get a step more difficult as the reigning champions were to visit. MFBC Leipzig is largely considered the favorite for the title this year as well and are the favorites going in against any time in the league this year. Hamburg, however, did not plan to just quietly fade away and give the points freely. As a matter of fact, it was Hamburg that was to open the scoring in this game as well. The teams then traded goals between each other and after successful penalty-shot towards the end of the period, it was the hosts that went to the break with 4-3 lead. The second period was largely uneventful but favored the guests as they managed to draw the game at 5-5 by the break. Where the second period was scoring-wise somewhat quiet, the third did not disappoint the good 250 people in the audience. It was only just over one minute as Hamburg regained the lead once more… and never looked back. As the period ended it was Hamburg that had demolished the reigning champions. 12-8 for the hosts pretty much guaranteed one of the bigger surprises of the season until now. The player of the game certainly must be Flemming Per Kühl with his 6+2 points.
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Floor Fighters successful against Bonn (9-6)
In Chemnitz, it was the Floor Fighters hosting the other promoted team SSF Dragons Bonn. Both having started their seasons well it was to be an interesting matchup. Chemnitz, having themselves survived the scare of play-downs last year, have definitely decided not to put themselves in the same place again. If the first period was anything to go by, they are more likely to head towards the play-offs than play-downs. As the teams headed for the dressing rooms, it was Chemnitz up by 6-1. As the 2nd period saw little change….7-3 by the end of it, it was up to the last third to see who will take the points. Only 28seconds in it was the hosts again to take the game to 8-3 already. At this point Bonn managed to start get their engine going again with a few goals (the last two only 28sec apart) managed to raise some hopes for the guests again…until some 10sec before the end it was the Floor Fighters that put the last nail in the coffin and finalized the numbers to 9-6 for the hosts.
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Berlin recovers after loss in first round
The final game was to be fought between the Berlin Rockets and VfL Red Hocks Kaufering. Both having lost their first game, they both certainly wanted to improve. If there were plenty of goals in the other games, this one was about to be different. As a matter of fact, it was the penalties that took more place in the game-report than actual goals. In the end, it was Berlin that was able to recover from their loss to Bonn from the previous week and take their first points of the season.
Ranking
So after two rounds, the table certainly looks different than most probably expected.
1 UHC Sparkasse Weißenfels 6pts
2 Floor Fighters Chemnitz 6pts
3 ETV Piranhhas Hamburg 6pts
4 Berlin Rockets 4pts
5 MFBC Leipzig 3pts
6 TV Schriesheim 3pts
7 SSF Dragons Bonn 2pts
8 Red Devils Wernigerode 0pts
9 VfL Red Hocks Kaufering 0pts
10 DJK Holzbüttgen 0pts
Two games per team in the upcoming weekend
No rest for the weary however as the next round is going to be played already the following weekend, and not only that: it is going to be a double-barrel as well. Here are the matchups:
28.09.2019 18:00 Hamburg, Sporthalle Hoheluft ETV Piranhhas Hamburg – UHC Sparkasse Weißenfels
28.09.2019 18:00 Wernigerode, Stadtfeldhalle Red Devils Wernigerode – DJK Holzbüttgen
28.09.2019 18:00 Bonn, Sportpark Nord SSF Dragons Bonn – TV Schriesheim
28.09.2019 18:00 Kaufering, Sportzentrum Kaufering VfL Red Hocks Kaufering – Floor Fighters Chemnitz
29.09.2019 16:00 Leipzig, Sporthalle am Rabet MFBC Leipzig – Berlin Rockets
29.09.2019 16:00 Schriesheim, Mehrzweckhalle TV Schriesheim – VfL Red Hocks Kaufering
29.09.2019 16:00 Weißenfels, Stadthalle UHC Sparkasse Weißenfels – Red Devils Wernigerode
29.09.2019 20:00 Kaarst, Stadtparkhalle DJK Holzbüttgen – SSF Dragons Bonn
So once again interesting matchups (are there any other kinds this season?). More to those then shortly after next weekend.
Cheers, Kimmo”
Any thoughts about floorball in Germany? Or questions you’d like to ask Kimmo? Let us know by sending an email to hello@floorballtoday.com or contacting us through social media!
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