©Gerhard Bildstein
On the second day of Christmas, an intensive weekly program begins for the EC Bregenzerwald. It starts with the away game against EK Zeller Eisbären.
Final sprint in the basic round. Five games are still outstanding for the forests, three of which will be played this week alone. In the only away game on Monday, head coach Markus Juurikkala’s team meets EK Zeller Eisbären. The Pinzgauer are sixth in the Alps Hockey League table, which does not correspond to set goals for the season, which include qualification for the Master Round. Polar bear tamer Martin Ekrt had to vacate his place on the board at the beginning of the month, and ex-EHC Lustenau trainer Mike Flanagan took over the baton shortly afterwards.
The last meeting with EC Bregenzerwald didn’t go according to plan from the Zellers’ point of view either, the Vorarlbergers won 4:3 in the Messestadion. Markus Juurikkala expects a similarly hard-fought game on Monday: “We will face a motivated, really capable team. For me, Zell am See is still one of the big favorites who can win everything this year. Mike is a good coach and has certainly disciplined and trained his team well.”