Löwen Frankfurt, a professional ice hockey club based in Frankfurt's Bornheim district, finished third at the Gäubodencup preseason tournament in Straubing on Sunday, beating the Nürnberg Ice Tigers 3-1 in the third-place game four weeks before the start of the new Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) season.
As the final whistle sounded, fans who had travelled from Hesse broke into chants of "Nico, tanzen! Nico, tanzen!" (Nico, dance!), directed at new goalkeeper Nico Pertuch. Pertuch accepted the invitation, performing a few quick dance steps and a somersault on the ice at the Pulverturm arena in Straubing.
Two days earlier, Frankfurt had put up a strong showing against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the tournament semi-final but lost 4-6, missing out on a place in the final.
Goalkeeper competition reopened
Goalkeepers performing a short dance for their fans after a good game is a fairly common tradition in ice hockey. But that it was Pertuch doing the dancing was not a given only a few weeks ago. Although he wears the number one jersey, whether he will also be Frankfurt's regular starting goalkeeper for the coming DEL season may again be an open question.
The club's original plan had been for Adam Scheel to take over as the regular starter, while the 21-year-old Pertuch, regarded as a major talent, would be loaned to cooperation partner Bad Nauheim to gain further playing time, a common arrangement between DEL clubs and lower-league sides for developing young players. That did not happen. According to information from hr-sport, the sports desk of Hessischer Rundfunk, Löwen Frankfurt and the Bad Nauheim club, ECN, fell out badly over the goalkeeper and ended their cooperation a month ago.
Coach satisfied after first test
Löwen Frankfurt head coach Tom Pokel, who was born in the United States, said he was pleased with his team's performance in the tournament. He said the side had already done many things well and had conceded little when playing five-on-five.
Pokel said the penalty kill had been the team's weak point in the first game of the tournament, but that they had analysed, trained and improved it by Saturday.
Four weeks until the season opener
Pokel now has four weeks left to fine-tune his squad before Frankfurt open the new DEL season away at the Schwenninger Wild Wings on 18 September. The DEL is Germany's top professional ice hockey league.
Frankfurt fought against relegation last season, finishing above only the Dresdner Eislöwen in the standings. With a number of notable reinforcements added over the summer, particularly on defence, the Hesse side is thought capable of at least reaching the pre-playoffs this season, which could mean a few more goalkeeper dances before it is over. Who performs them remains to be seen.
Remaining preseason fixtures
- 28 August, 18:30: Kölner Haie vs Löwen Frankfurt
- 4 September, 19:00: Augsburg Panther vs Löwen Frankfurt
- 12 September, 18:00: Löwen Frankfurt vs ERC Ingolstadt
