The Wildcats Julia Hagen (33) and Lea Gehrer (21) share their passion for ice hockey.
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The EHC Lustenau women’s team trains in a disciplined manner and shows what ultimately matters on the ice.
Lustenau It’s eight o’clock on Tuesday evening in the Rheinhalle in Lustenau. While the youngsters have already trained, one wild cat after the other comes into the dressing room of the women’s team. There is laughter, joking and the training is initiated with music from the box. It is a joyful coming together of 22 women who live out their passion on the ice together twice a week. “Listen up everyone. We’re still warming up before we start training on the ice at 9 p.m.,” says Sabrina Anderle (29).
passion for ice hockey
In addition to a fighting team and successful young players, the EHC also has an outstanding women’s team: the Wildcats. The women are similar to the men. They also love the game of ice hockey. “We train hard, but it’s not that rough here. We don’t have that much strength,” explains Sabrina Anderle from Sulz. The women’s priority is to play well. “Of course we want to win, but fun and humor are important and we don’t miss out,” said the player. “I would say we have a healthy mixture of fighting spirit and joy.” She has been playing ice hockey for 13 years and is happy to be with the EHC in Lustenau. “We’re like a small family because we spend our free time together here on the ice.” The women, aged between 17 and 36, now carefully put on their protective gear and tie their skates. Every move fits. Training will start soon.
High level with the Wildcats
“The Wildcats are a hobby team at a very high level,” explains their coach Terrence Hämmerle (53) from Lustenau. Most players are career changers and came to this sport late. Since this year they have been playing in the Bavarian state league and are competing with 15 women’s teams in this sport. “Last weekend we had two games in Bergheim and Bissingen,” says Julia Hagen (33) from Dornbirn. They won one game and narrowly lost the other in a penalty shootout. For their coach Hämmerle that’s not too bad. “I always teach them that you can lose. However, you have to fight and not just let your opponent take the disc,” he says.
You win as a team
Things move fast for women on the ice. The pucks change their owners, it’s good to be a spectator behind the glass pane. The Wildcats train on Tuesdays from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and game tactics are fine-tuned on Fridays at the same time. “In our last match, everyone behaved in a very disciplined manner and stuck to the tactics. We scored,” says Hämmerle. The three goalies Rosalie Eberle (17), Sabrina Anderle (29) and Karin Dietrich (29) are coached by Claus Pozzera. If you ask about the secret of the Wildcats’ success, Hämmerle quickly has an answer. “We boosted their confidence. Everyone plays with us. Because you always win as a team,” emphasizes the coach. Together with Claus Pozzera and Mario Hois, the team has become what it is today. And so they dash across the ice and look forward to the next league games full of energy. bvs
