What a surprise: the last game turned out to be the crucial game of the 2012/2013 season; this time the opponent turned out to be last season’s champion, Eisbären Berlin. This was a tough team for the Tigers to beat, as only one win could have resulted in them taking 10th place, which was the prerequisite for pre-playoff games. Once again my oldest son, Tobias was part of this historic triumph, similar to the previous year, when we witnessed the incredible victory against Adler Mannheim resulting in direct participation in the playoffs.
This exciting game against the official 2012 champion was extremely exciting, but the Tigers performed sensationally well, keeping the best players away from their goalkeeper and even scoring six times, while the defense only allowed two goals, which was quite impressive. in this situation. If the Tigers had scored one more goal, Eisbären Berlin wouldn’t have even gotten the right to play their first home game; they got lucky that way anyway.
In the late afternoon, the crowd at the stadium was once again shocked to have made the previous playoffs this season. Who should have been the defeated team that time? It soon became clear that the Augsburg Panthers were the opponent.
In the end, I was right to forget about all those other previous games and start from scratch; anyway, it was obvious that the Tigers had to play their best hockey.
First, the Tigers had to head to Augsburg; Almost 6,500 crazy spectators followed this game, a large community of Straubing fans was in the middle of this crowd of passionate people. Ultimately, after the second overtime that basically lasted for about 20 minutes, the Tigers struck a lucky break and led 1: 0 in the series.
Then I tried to get a valuable ticket for the next home game that will take place two days later at the Pulverturm, when I was joined by a close friend who had already experienced many quite emotional games.
In fact, we were part of a great game of my dear Tigers: they were cheered intensely by almost 6,000 fans. Finally, we won 4: 1 and made it to the quarterfinals against the Cologne Sharks, whose head coach, Uwe Krupp, was not very happy with this constellation.
Needless to say, I tried to get both tickets for the home games, which was not easy anyway. Since Cologne won the first game quite easily with a 6: 1 victory, the Tigers had to recover soon. Their first home game was again a highlight, because our players managed to beat the Sharks 5: 2. At that point, everything became possible again and, anyway, you always firmly believe in your team.
The next game in the huge Lanxess arena was broadcast on television and I watched it, there was no question.
The first 10 minutes turned out to be pretty even with both teams working on several good scoring opportunities, but then the fiasco happened: the Sharks scored 3 goals in almost a minute, which was simply too much for the soul of the Tigers. It was amazing how something like this could have happened after those positive first impressions. Regardless, the Tigers still haven’t recovered from this clash and ultimately lost 0: 5.
Game 3 had to be won, this was pretty clear to the fans. I was still confident in reference to our first home game. On the positive side, the Tigers took the lead with an excellent blue lining after the first period. The crowd did their best tonight cheering throughout the game, which was amazing to watch.
Unfortunately, the Tigers were not paying attention for a few minutes, resulting in two quick goals for Colonia. In fact, this was very frustrating, as we were unable to reap our efforts before. After the sharks scored for the third time, it seemed like there was a long way to go. This was true, which was a real shame because the Tigers fought extremely well and did an excellent job despite the delay.
In the end, the Tigers lost 3: 6 although they put a lot of excitement into the game in the final period by coming back from 1: 5 to 3: 5. You never know what could have happened with a quick fourth goal.
Regardless, the Cologne Sharks lead 3.1 in the series and the final countdown should take place within 48 hours. This last game was quite tied until the end of 3 periods; finished 1: 1 and overtime had to decide for the first time in the series. Surely the Tigers had every opportunity to stay in the series and hold on to their chances. Could you still believe in this dream?
However, a bad and lousy change from the defense allowed Cologne to score the decisive goal and win 2: 1 by going up in the middle of the final.
However, the Tigers did a great job considering they had to deal with some major injuries from very important players during this series. There was no way to compensate against a team as tall as Cologne, which finally achieved the DEL final against Berlin.
I guess you already know who won the final? As in previous years, the Berlin Ice Bears were once again the best team in the league. But you must not forget that Berlin was very lucky to reach the fourth position of the table when they lost their last game against the Tigers.
Anyway, I will always cross my fingers in the coming seasons, but I will not keep my expectations too high, because the Tigers are still a loser, but they have already achieved much before.
One must never forget those wonderful miracles on ice! There are definitely no conditions for the future.
Outlook – Are you still dreaming?
How will the story of my beloved Straubing Tigers continue in the future?
Of course, you always remember your previous success story. However, you cannot expect such a high point every two years, there is no guarantee.
Basically, you can’t predict a similar performance on ice to what the Tigers had experienced the year before.
However, it should not be neglected that this team from Lower Bavaria has definitely achieved quite a bit over the last 6 years of being a solid member of this prestigious league in Germany.
They have deserved the respect and recognition of the rest of the teams. On the other hand, the crowd and critics are always trying to demand an even better performance year after year.
In that way, coaches and managers are obviously under increased pressure that must be minimized in terms of long-term success and a stable environment.
Again, it’s time to find and choose the right players for the upcoming season that still need to be planned and organized, even if the last game is not over yet.
The head coach is basically tasked with reasonably delegating all required tasks to the assistant coach with respect to goalkeepers; In addition, the sports director has to concentrate on looking for interesting players abroad who will earn their money in the AHL (American Hockey League); Above all, the European market will also be critically observed.
One of the favorite countries has always been the Swiss League, in particular Bern or Zurich. This is due to the predilection of our former coach Daniel Ratushny, who preferred two excellent players for the last two years. Those two graceful skaters have already paid off, as they became the most valid players for the Straubing Tigers team.
Anyway, let’s see what happens after season six for Straubing. I firmly believe that you still need to be patient while you wait for the success to come true sooner or later.
I will always keep my fingers crossed for the Straubing Tigers and look forward to many exciting and exciting matches taking place in the traditional stadium near the historic Pulverturm site; This is a famous tower from ancient times where ammunition was once stored to be alert if the enemy was near the city.
Hopefully the well-known ‘Pulverturm Roar’ will return soon.
Last but not least, I would like to draw your attention to another hockey highlight that is yet to come in the future.
Given that the 2005 championship icons and heroes namely Billy Trew, Trevor Gallant and Calvin Elfring no longer play for the Tigers, but will surely end their careers at some point, there will definitely be a special farewell game in Straubing sooner or later.
Without a doubt, it will be a very personal event with many emotions and memories. I strongly believe that the Straubing Tigers organization will try to find an interesting opponent worth going there.
I’m quite curious, when is this match going to take place and I’m sure I’m going to buy a ticket for this historic match; This will be a must in the eyes of passionate Tigers fans.