Spiele / Resultate | ZEP Gruppe B | 10.11.2013: Dolphins vs. Toten Hosen

Wins are easy to write about and losses get over-examined by coaches, players, fans and the media. Ties somehow always leave a feeling of an unfinished result, an ambiguity. For one team disappointment over lost opportunities, frustration and aggravation from letting a lead or a win slip away comes with an ‘even’ result. There were plenty of those kinds of feelings in the Horgen Dolphin’s locker room following Sunday night’s tie against Die Toten Hosen.

After coming off a strong 8-2 win the previous morning in Schaffhausen, Horgen was ready to continue winning. Proof of that was Horgen played mostly in the ‘Hosen’ zone for the bulk of the first period. The Dolphins showcased their solid puck movement and shooting ability. Die Hosen goaltender saw shots from every direction but the Dolphins could not get a handle on any of the rebounds. When the puck did come into the Dolphin defensive zone, it was just briefly. Defenders and wingers worked in unison to shake the puck off opponent’s sticks and clear the zone to attack in the other direction. On one counter attack, eight minutes in, Marco Burkhardt controlled a breakout pass in the neutral zone. The Hosen defenders were caught changing direction and Burkhardt raced to cross the blue line before the pursuit reached him. Inside the Hosen zone, he quickly let off his snap-shot. It whistled past the goalie’s blocker to put Horgen on the scoreboard. The physical game picked up after the goal and multiple penalties were called. Horgen found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-on-5 situation. They successfully cleared the puck enough times to kill the two man advantage and were just about to go ‘even-strength’ when Die Hosen netted their tying goal.
The Dolphins continued to bring the game into the offensive zone and Die Hosen goalie continued to make saves. With less than five minutes on the clock, assistant captain Benedikt Federer was fed the puck at the blue line. Seeing his shooting lane, the veteran defenseman fired towards the net. His shot got through the screen of bodies in front and stopped in the white netting. The period ended soon after.
(Horgen Dolphins 2 – Die Toten Hosen 1)

After the break, Die Hosen tried to come back but the Dolphins stopped them each time and returned their attack. Horgen out-shot their opponent by nearly sixty percent. But all the rebounds either bounced out of reach or to a location where they were cleared. At neutral ice, Horgen regrouped for more of the same - a barrage of shots. Unfortunately, the whistle blew ending the second with nothing for the Dolphins to show for their efforts. (Horgen Dolphins 2 – Die Toten Hosen 1).

The third period was a tense battle as each team fought for advantage. The Dolphins wanted to increase their lead and Die Hosen pushed for the tying goal. Six minutes in, the balance leaned to Horgen. After a shot from the point bounced to Burkhadt, he slapped in the rebound from close range for his second of the night. The two-goal hole did not deter Die Hosen. Soon after, they came into the Horgen zone worked the puck around a little and in the mix of stick in the slot a shot clanked off the inside post and ricocheted into the net. With only a few minutes left in the third, Die Hosen struck again. When both the Horgen defense and offence collapsed in front of the net an open ‘Hosen’ slipped the puck past Horgen’s keeper for the tying goal. When the final whistle blew, it was visible during the handshake that Die Toten Hosen had dodged a loss while the Dolphins had played too hard to deserve the tie.

The Dolphin’s next game is on Sunday, November 24. They will try to pluck two points off HC Condors at 4:30 PM in Zug.

Aufstellung:
Tor: Max Schneble
Verteidigung: Benedikt Federer (1), Sven Huber, Balz Kost, Andi Leuthold
Sturm: Marco Burkhardt (2), Philipp Hauser, Kevin Ostroske, Stefan Ruckstuhl, Rico Studer, Maurice Thornton, Marc Weber