On the second match day of the still young DEL2 season 2021/2022, it was an away game at Löwen Frankfurt under the ESV Kaufbeuren programme. ESVK coach Rob Pallin sent the same squad as in Friday’s season opener against Ravensburg in the three-point race.
ESVK got off to a good start in the match and managed to immediately outnumbered the first, with Lion going with Matt Curry into the penalty area after just 23 seconds. The game of strength remained unused, but the Jokers entered the game well and achieved their first goals. In the fifth minute of the match, after a beautiful display by Joe Lewis, Kaufperor led 0: 1. After passes from Sami Blomqvist and Branden Gracel, No. 11 tunneled Joker Jake Hildebrandt into the black box to give an early lead. After that, Frankfurt had its first show of strength. However, ESVK defended hard and didn’t actually allow a noteworthy goal to be finished. Then Joey Lewis missed a big chance single-handedly against Jake Hildebrand and Marcus Lelich was very unlucky, as happened on Friday when a full shot from his wrist hit the post in the 10th minute of the match. At the end of the first section, the lions tried to put more and more pressure on the ESVK housing, but this was difficult because clowns often managed to annoy the lions during the setup of the game. So he entered the first half with a deserved lead for ESVK.
At the beginning of the second period, Maxi Meyer had to guard the gate for Stefan Faggs at ESVK. The young goalkeeper was immediately at the center of the action, and this was due to the fact that the Frankfurt team increased the pressure again and ESVK is now having great difficulties coming out of their defense in an orderly fashion. Maxi Meyer showed several strong saves in the initial stage and prevented a draw several times. Then he was helpless in the 28th minute when the lions equalized in poweplay. The blow was very strange. After winning the goal, the Joker lost behind the goal, the goal in front of goal and Rylan Schwartz hit the far post from the air to equalize 1: 1. Then unfortunately, the Jokers themselves became more and more confused. Part of it was too many puck losses and unnecessary punishments. Another penalty kick and associated undercounting game, the Joker could have taken the lead on a counterattack. Markus Schweiger AB brought a pass in front of Fabian Voigt’s goal and Jake Hildebrand didn’t pass it. But in return, the Joker weakened again. Sammy Blomqvist was out for two minutes and the Lions had a five for three. Then the Hessians took advantage of this in the person of Maximilian Faber. The defender had plenty of space and hit the right corner with a shot from his wrist to make it 2-1. ESVK doesn’t seem to learn from its mistakes, a goal loss on the offensive blue line forced Alex Thiel to incorrectly intervene and the Lions were able to play their next power game. Then Aljoey defended well again and outnumbered them again in a dangerous counterattack. This time Kaufbeuren used the opportunity but equalized 2-2. John Lammers broke through the outside position, pulling in front of the gate and pushing the hard rubber disc between Jake Hildebrand’s legs over the line. Play 36 minutes. If that wasn’t enough, the red-yellow could have improved in the same outnumbered game. But Jake Hildebrand was there and prevented Kaufberer III from getting injured. Black does it differently. In the still-going game, they again took the lead with a hidden shot. Kevin Maginot scored against “Freund and Foe” in Maximilian Mayer’s area and brought his Lions 3:2 up front. With this result, we entered the second half.
In the final section, Allgäu once again showed a strong game. Marcus Leles managed to equalize in the 53rd minute of the match with a penalty kick against the Lions. John Lammers put it right and Marcus Lelich built the board into the corner. ESVK has now shown several offensive actions and has repeatedly pushed the home team into their own territory. Unfortunately, no other strong game was used after 47 minutes and the game was on a knife edge. The Lions then took one of his few chances through Bobby Raymond to opener 4:3. Glad the two jokes were on the trigger, happy making it, but also worth watching at the end. Al-Kindi’s shot landed at a specific angle. Maximilian Mayer had no chances. ESVK was not impressed and kept pushing its target. The Joker had a chance, but it wouldn’t work anymore. Even if the game is outnumbered, 105 seconds before the end, it shouldn’t help. The townspeople of Wertach acted with six players against four field players, but they were sometimes not clear and precise enough in their actions. Shortly before the end, the Hessians hit the empty Kaufbeurer gate to score the final score of 5:3.
As on Friday, there was a lot going on at ESVK. Coach Rob Palin’s side once again showed a strong game over extended periods. Unfortunately, he kept getting into trouble due to unnecessary penalties and individual fouls, so in the end it wasn’t enough to get points.
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