HC Erlangen loses final game of the season in Ludwigshafen

HC Erlangen suffered a defeat in its final league game of the 2017/2018 season. The team of Head Coach Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson lost to Ludwigshafen Owls by 32:29 in a fiercely contested encounter.

A highly-charged away game awaited HC Erlangen on the last day of the season. It was all or nothing for the opposing side from Ludwigshafen: If it defeated the HCE and Lübbecke, its rival in the battle to avoid relegation, dropped a point, the Owls could stay up.

The first half was evenly poised. HC Erlangen got off to a good start and pulled three goals in front after 13 minutes of play. As the game went on, however, the Owls stepped up a gear and tied the scores at 10:10 in the 22nd minute. Whereas the Owls’ fans kept their eyes on the German league live ticker, both teams gave as good as they got. Neither the HCE nor the Owls were able to open up a gap. The 2,350 spectators in the Eberthalle arena saw both teams go in at half-time with the score 16:15.

The home side got off to the better start after the break. Although the HC remained focused to begin with and struck back to tie the encounter at 18:18 after Christopher Bissel won possession, its defense then displayed too many gaps, which Ludwigshafen capitalized on uncompromisingly.

With the score at 27:24, Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson changed his defensive tactics, deploying an offensive 5:1 system. That switch initially reaped rewards, as HC Erlangen did not give up and closed the deficit to two goals with six minutes remaining. However, the Owls, who had to win the final game of the season at all costs to remain in the first division, did not surrender control of the encounter and pulled four goals ahead in the 58th minute. Maximilian Lux scored on the buzzer to make the final score 32:29. HC Erlangen thus finished 13th in the table in the 2017/2018 and can look positively to the future. Despite the fact that the squad was dogged by injuries, the last weeks have shown that the team is making progress as envisaged in all areas and is on the right track. “We didn’t produce a good game today, but we’re on a really good trajectory and looking forward to the next season,” said the HC’s Managing Director René Selke after the 34th and final matchday.