After three bankruptcies in a row
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The inner life of the penguins is unstable
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Can head coach Igor Zakharkin stop the penguins on their way to DEL2? At the moment there is little evidence of this.
Photo: Lammertz, Thomas (lamb)/Lammertz
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Krefeld After the recent defeats, there is no longer any trace of the mental strength that coach Igor Zakharkin valued so much after the Olympic break. This is also indicated by the statements of the players.
After the two defeats at the weekend in Augsburg (4:7) and in Nuremberg (2:6) there is little to suggest that the Krefeld Penguins will stay up in the Penny-DEL. The DEL founding member presented himself too weak in all parts of the team in Bayernland. In both games, the Penguins conceded 13 goals and are now the league’s shooting gallery with 177 goals conceded from 49 games behind Bietigheim, who have already conceded 178 goals. And the meager record of 53 points after 49 games does not indicate that they can still stay up. The rivals from Schwenningen and Iserlohn already have six more points and Iserlohn has played one game less.
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The inner life of the team, which is plagued by many failures by top performers, also seems to be too unstable. Statements from the players and officials after the games do not convey much confidence. After the game in Nuremberg, Sergey Saveljev said at the press conference after first thanking the fans who had traveled with him: “The team is giving everything it has. There is no player who comes back to the dressing room without emotion. The boys fought and gave everything. It’s difficult for us to play so many games with few players. Unfortunately we are where we are, but we will fight to the end.”
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In addition to the perseverance slogan, these words also conveyed resignation. The statements of the players in the third breaks or after games at Magenta-Sport sound similar. Young striker Justin Volek, who made it 2-3, said in Nuremberg in the second break: “We came back, that’s at least something positive. But we’re just too dumb and stupid. I can not find any words”. His experienced teammate Alexander Weiß, who had set up Volek’s goal, was at a loss about the flood of goals: “20 goals conceded in three games, you don’t win a game in the DEL. You can’t shoot seven. I’m lost for words. But we won’t give up. We should just start winning games slowly.”
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It seems that the team is in dire need of renewed self-confidence. Whether coach Zakharkin can still convey that to his team seems at least questionable. The players don’t exactly exude optimism and the mental strength so praised by the coach after the Olympic break has been lost. Maybe the gang needs a change if relegation is to be avoided and the penguins don’t have to say goodbye to the top ice hockey league on April 3 after the home game against Adler Mannheim after 31 years. But this impulse should already be set now. Because as striker Weiss says, the penguins have to start winning games and not just against their direct competitors Schwenningen and Iserlohn. Surprise victories against Mannheim and Wolfsburg are also necessary for staying up in the league.
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