Relegation of the Krefeld Penguins postponed at the last second

3-2 win after extra time
:
Relegation of the Krefeld Penguins postponed at the last second

–

The double goal scorer Maximilian Gläßl (No. 59) is celebrated by the teammates.
Photo: Lammertz, Thomas (lamb)

–
–

Krefeld Jeremy Bracco secures the 3-2 victory after extra time against Schwenningen and lets the penguins still dream of staying up. Goalkeeper Sergei Belov and two-time goal scorer Maximilian Gläßl stood out.

–

Gerhard, Sieglinde and Daniel are longtime fans of the Krefeld penguins. But when they made their way towards the ice rink on Tuesday evening, it was different than usual. “I have a very modest feeling,” said Gerhard. “It’s about a lot, almost everything in the current league. We still have a little hope. We’ve experienced a lot of ups and downs, but this is the biggest crash – maybe.” Felix had a similar experience. He felt a “strange feeling. I do believe that it will be the last game in which I see the Penguins as a first division team for a long time. But that doesn’t matter, we’ll keep going anyway.”

–

Felix was right, because Krefeld won 3:2 (2:1, 0:0, 0:1, 1:0) after extra time. Jeremy Bracco scored the decisive goal with the final siren after 65 minutes. The jubilation was huge, just as if the penguins had achieved relegation. But that’s not the case. The descent was postponed at most. Because the black and yellow not only have to win their remaining three games on Wednesday in Mannheim, on Friday in Iserlohn and on Sunday against Mannheim, but the Schwenninger team also have to lose their two matches in Ingolstadt and against Nuremberg. That seems at least theoretically possible.

–

Success makes you sexy – accordingly, the attractiveness of penguins is not that far off at the moment. Only 2,543 spectators came to support the team in what may be their last fight for relegation. The right fighting atmosphere did not arise in the Yayla Arena. From the very first face-off, the people of Schwenningen presented themselves as self-confident and willing to fight, and you could clearly see their will to win. After just 14 seconds, Krefeld’s goalkeeper Segei Belov was tested for the first time, after four minutes the puck wriggled in its box for the first time. Michael Hoeffel sat in the penalty box. After a drowsy start and a missed majority game, Maximilian Gläßl revived the spirits and fighting spirit after ten minutes with his goal to equalize. Finally there was a mood in the booth and the black and yellow pushed for the lead. Two minutes before the first break, the goalkeepers were in the spotlight. First, Belov parried a solo effort by Ken Olimb superbly, in return, Schwenningen goalkeeper Joacim Eriksson made a mistake, so that Gläßl was able to celebrate his second goal.

–

The hosts came out of the dressing room in the middle section and were unlucky that Robert Sabolic only hit the post. As the game progressed, the pressure and the inadequacies increased. Numerous disc losses on both sides opened up opportunities that neither of the two weak teams knew how to use. The Krefelders could rely on the skills of their keeper, who was a great support with a strong performance. That’s how it went into the second break with a narrow 2:1 lead, so that nerves of steel were required in the final third.

–

Who would make the crucial mistake now? The answer came two minutes after the restart when Yannick Hänggi and Laurin Braun were still asleep and Görtz scored again for Schwenningen.

–

“It was important for us to take a point,” said Schwenningen coach Christof Kreutzer. Krefeld’s sporting director Sergey Saveljev said: “We won two very important points, even if three would have been better, of course. But we saved our chance and are now going to Mannheim. We’ll keep fighting to stay up in the league after all.” The game continues tonight in Mannheim.

–

Leave a Comment Cancel reply