Kimmo Vallema blogs about his floorball experiences in Germany. Want to know more about him? Click here to read his introduction article.

The heat is on….

“Finally the wait is over and the game is afoot. This past weekend saw the 1st Bundesleague kick into action simultaneously with the first round of the German Cup. So the floorballing-public of Germany was busy all over the country.

The first round of the season

The first round of the league competition is always slightly nervy thing as the pre-season games really cannot be used to draw any conclusions on the form of the teams as everyone is busy still getting new players in, perhaps driving-in a new system, trying new things with tactics…perhaps even hiding the true potential of the team from the opponents.

When it comes to results, the first look at the results hints towards an exciting season to come. Whereas still last seasons, especially at the beginning of the season, there were some lopsided results with teams running over other with double-digit margins, none of that seemed to take place this weekend. Even if the season has just barely begun, if things remain this way, it promises to deliver an exciting season like of which we have not seen in Germany for some years.

Results

So get to the results already!! The first weekend results looked like this:

ETV Piranhhas Hamburg – DJK Holzbüttgen 7:4

SSF Dragons Bonn – Berlin Rockets 5:4 (n.V.)

UHC Sparkasse Weißenfels – TV Schriesheim 9:3

Red Devils Wernigerode – Floor Fighters Chemnitz 5:10

VfL Red Hocks Kaufering – MFBC Leipzig 2:7

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As you can see, there were no major upsets but rather closely fought matches.

A closer look at Hamburg – Holzbüttgen

In Hamburg, it was the hosts that kept the points for the home team as they beat DJK Holzbüttgen 7-4. The game started great for the guests as barely two minutes were gone and they were already up by 2 goals. The hosts, however, forced DJK to their tempo and slowly but surely clawed their way back to the game. The second period was then all hosts as DJK struggled to find their game and it was the hosts by one by the start of the third period. As Hamburg then extended their lead at the start of the 3rd period, it was the straw that forced DJK to play with two blocks and up the tempo considerably. DJK was then rewarded by a goal as the period reached it’s halfway point. The game saw DJK take more control as Hamburg was content to go for counter-attacks. As Piranhhas then managed to score once more, DJK was forced to take the goalie out rather early and was then applying pressure on the whole court. As DJK then got a penalty, the task at hand was really made much more difficult. In the end, it was not to be as Hamburg managed to score an empty netter scoring the first 3 points of the season. All in all, as a member of DJK-team, we saw many positive things in the match as well and we were able to bring in some home-grown young talent as well so this is something we definitely can build on. As for Hamburg, they certainly got what they wanted from the first weekend. I was also told that the stream provided by Hamburg (they stream all their home-games in YouTube) was of excellent quality so well done on all fronts!

Unfortunately, I do not have as much detail on the other games as I obviously was not there, but based on the results there were some nail-biters.

Dragons Bonn vs. Berlin Rockets

SSF Dragons Bonn as one of the newcomers to the league, certainly got their monies worth as they managed to take their guests from Berlin to the extra-time. Bonn was even up by 2 goals before starting the 3rd period but the guests from Berlin managed to draw the game with less than 3 minutes to go. It took nearly 7 minutes of overtime until Bonn managed to score their first points on their very first 1.Bundesleague game.

Weißenfels beat Schriesheim

In Weißenfels it was the other promoted team, Schriesheim that came to visit. It was always perhaps expected to be a somewhat difficult game for Schriesheim as Weißenfels has for years been the team to beat in the league. However, it was Schriesheim to draw first blood. As a matter of fact, it was the promoted team that was still leading the game at the halfway point. Whether it was Weißenfels to up their game or if Schriesheim ran out of steam, it was the hosts that slowly but surely built on their lead and in the end walked away with a decisive 9-3 victory. It was the batch of Finns that took the responsibility on and combined total of 12 points amongst them.

Chemnitz reaches double digits

In Wernigerode, the difficult start of the season for the hosts continued as Chemnitz rolled over them with a decisive 10-5 victory. Even if the Renew-Cup and Sparkassencup as preparatory tournaments are not to be taken as gospel when it comes to comparing the competitiveness of teams, some alarm signs must have been there for Wernigerode. Even if the results for Wernigerode were perhaps so promising in pre-season, it must be said that they did go into this match as favorites considering Chemnitz were last year still fighting against relegation. It certainly looks like Chemnitz managed to lure some effective help and preparation for the upcoming seasons certainly has been effective. I dare to say there were very few people that would have expected to see Chemnitz occupying second place in the league table… even if it is just the first round.

Reigning champion starts the season with a victory

The last game of the round was fought between the reigning champions Leipzig against Kaufering. As most probably expected, it was Leipzig that ran away with the points. For Kaufering the result is not too bad, however. Losing 7-2 against the current champions, widely expected to be also the new champions is a respectable result.

All in all, quite interesting round and since all of the results were relatively tight, brings with it the great promise of some epic battles to come. What could be more interesting in the end than see the play-offs vs the play-down positions to be dealt only in the last rounds of the league… it might well happen this year!

German Cup

Not only did the 1st Bundesleague start this weekend but the first round of the German Cup was also fought over. Here are all the results:

ASV Köln 1 – PTSV United Lakers Konstaz 6:4

TV Eiche Horn Bremen II – Blau-Weiß 96 Schenefeld 0:15

ATS Buntentor Knights – USV Halle Saalebiber 0:15

SG UHC Berlin/VfL Tegel – Floorball Tigers Magdeburg 9:10

SSF Dragons Bonn 2 – SG Hochdahl-Aachen 3:4

SV 03 Tübingen Sharks – Sportvg Feuerbach 4:1

Hannover Mustangs – FBC Potsdam 18:2

MTV 1846 Gießen – TSV Calw Lions 5:8

UHC Döbeln 06 – Donau-Floorball Ingolstadt/Nordheim 5:9

Floorball Griedel – FC Rennsteig Avalanche 5:9

UHC Elster – SCS Berlin 3:6

1. UC Braunschweig – Black Lions Landsberg 6:7

Hannover 96 II – BSV Roxel 2:24

ETV Piranhhas II – TSC Wellingsbüttel 3:10

VfL Red Hocks Kaufering II – Unihockey Igels Dresden 2:19

Black Pitballs Sankt. Wendel – USV Jena 2:5

MFBC Schkeuditz/Leipzig – SC DHfK Leipzig 3:12

ETV Piranhhas III – Floorball Grizzlys Salzwedel 4:10

Floorball Mainz – Lumberjacks Rohrdorf 5:7

Lilienthaler Wölfe – MTV Mittelnkirchen 19:5

ETV Piranhhas IV – TV Eiche Horn Bremen 1:13

TV Augsburg – Dümptener Füchse 3:16

I am afraid I cannot comment too much on the results as I am not that familiar with most of the teams. However, the next round is when the Bundesleague teams are joining so it should be interesting what pairings will come up in the next draw. Keep your eyes peeled for the draw over the next couple of days.

Upcoming games

21.09.2019 18:00 ETV Piranhhas Hamburg – MFBC Leipzig

21.09.2019 18:00 TV Schriesheim – Red Devils Wernigerode

21.09.2019 18:00 DJK Holzbüttgen – UHC Sparkasse Weißenfels

22.09.2019 15:00 Berlin Rockets – VfL Red Hocks Kaufering

21.09.2019 18:00 Floor Fighters Chemnitz – SSF Dragons Bonn

Some interesting pairings there. Both Leipzig and Hamburg got a good start for their season so it will be interesting if Hamburg will be able to keep that home-form against the reigning champions. Schriesheim already proved themselves against Leipzig so taking on Weißenfels is certainly going to keep the heat on.

DJK Holzbüttgen will be hosting Weißenfels is another quite interesting matchup. Last year it was DJK that was the first team to beat Weißenfels so the guests are certainly interested in pay-back! In the match between Berlin and Kaufering it is a battle of the mid-table from last year. Both teams are certainly aiming for the play-offs this year so these matches are key to differentiate yourself from the others.

Last but not least, it is Chemnitz that welcomes the Dragons from Bonn. Both teams had a great start to the season and it will be interesting to see which one of them will be able to keep it going.

In the meanwhile, take care and see you around!

Cheers,

Kimmo”

Kimmo Vallema

Any thoughts about floorball in Germany? Or questions you’d like to ask Kimmo? Let us know by sending an email to [email protected] or contacting us through social media!