The two rival neighbors meet again for the revenge of the Haut-Rhinois derby, where, three weeks previously, the Mulhouse Scorpions had won the game hands down in front of the Colmar Titans and a great local crowd. The Illberg ice rink was not left out as 1402 entries were finally counted and announced.
Since this first Haut-Rhin duel, Colmar has had the Aigles Bisontins at home, before losing by a short header to Lafayette. Mulhouse, for its part, was eager to get back on ice after three weeks of dieting. It's not easy in these conditions to stay focused on your podium and your tactical plans.
It was therefore a complete and determined Mulhouse squad which returned to the ice when the Colmar squad had to play without Antoine Dauthier, as well as his colleague Jonathan Boehrer, retained for professional reasons. Based on this sporting observation, we suspected that the outcome of the match would hardly be favorable to the visitors, and it was.
Not that the game was played one way. The two opponents in fact feared and observed each other for a good ten minutes, before opening the scoring ball. The match is then lively, full of movement, even if Colmar prefers to be a little more cautious before moving forward.
The first Colmar penalty made it possible to unlock the scoreboard during a comeback from Joachim Sonnet, then exploited by Noah Oswald in ambush (1-0 at 10'11''). But from the start, the Studers took advantage of the opponent's lack of attention to get back into the lead (1-1 at 10'17''). Everything will then have to be done again, not long before Sonnet sends halfway towards the cage of Anatoli Sizov, fairly masked for the moment (2-1 at 11'35'').
The game is definitely underway and Mulhouse will gradually take off, despite a few too-rare breaks from Colmar, like the two consecutive ones led by TGV Rayen Strayer at the start of the match (4'00'' and 4'23''). The Titans, although always valiant, struggle to contain the forward projections of the locals, are frequently late on the actions, and have to compensate for these shortcomings in an illicit way, as in this slashing of Ilian Eigelthinger on Oswald, technically very good as physically last night.
Add to this the fact that at this point in the match, Sizov seemed less flamboyant in his interventions. All this explains that the new achievements of Thomas Leblond at mid-distance (3-1 at 15'59'') then of Oswald (16'16'') are not undeserved. The Colmar defense is simply giving up.
And things are not going to get better for Genya Kouznetsov's troops after leaving the locker room, since Renaud Studer, probably affected, will not return to the ice, thus diminishing his team's offensive potential through his absence.
However, the Titans came back to score when Ryan Lamotte did it twice to deceive Nicolas Jona (4-2 at 22'06''). But it will be the only real shine in their third, with a new shot from the former Angevin junior at the end of the period. Throughout the rest of this period, it was Mulhouse who played the game, and took off on a rebound from Quentin Chauvel (5-2 at 24'00''), then a close deflection from Arnaud Fuss ( 6-2 at 29'31'') and finally a close try from Vincent Da Silva (7-2 at 37'18'').
Not to mention a melting scrum in front of Sizov (32'59''), a new breakthrough from Oswald (35'09''), or even a new goal refused, the puck finally having passed well under Sizov, and not blocked by the Estonian goalkeeper (35'52'').
There remains little at stake for the last twenty, especially when Thomas Ackermann quickly concludes a nice cross from his colleague Quentin Mathez posted behind the Colmar goal (8-2 at 42'52''). However, the locals will then loosen their attention, whether to defend their defensive zone, or even their passes.
The Colmarians will not have given up and will then have allowed themselves, for the first time, to take the match in hand, even if in a way that is not necessarily impactful, we are then around the 48th minute. Kouznetsov changes his goalkeeper, Sizov leaving this trying game to leave it to his young sidekick Quentin Hartmann (48'23'').
This is illustrated by a few good saves, like this shot from Ackermann repelled by the Colmarien plate (52'15''). However, he will have to bow to this advance on his right from Téo Haffner, who fixes him before sending victoriously towards the left corner of the goalkeeper (9-2 at 55'39'', photo above). In the process, Jérémy Miclo exploits a new local deconcentration at the time of the commitment (9-3 at 55'49'').
The final interest of the game will be to know if the Mulhousiens will reach ten. This will not happen, despite final local attempts, notably by Oswald, again! Who will also end his game on the bench of infamy after a brief but conclusive fight against Eigelthinger, time to evacuate all the charges and illicit gestures that the little Mulhouse strategist will have suffered throughout the game (pictured below).
In the end, Mulhouse has preserved its invincibility since the start of the season. The strong point of the Mulhousiens is the fact of being able to have only 4 complete and homogeneous lines, moving and fast, in particular to project towards the opposing zone. It should be noted, however, that this revenge will not have been played with the same intensity, nor the same concentration throughout the match, as during the first leg in Colmar. The two Colmar achievements, following two goal throw-ins, are not trivial in this regard. Faced with more impactful and determined, it is imperative to stay focused and close the door in all circumstances.
Following the duel played in the first leg, and deprived of their scorer-strategist Jonathan Boehrer, the Titans probably did not expect to return from Illberg with a full points gain. The game was long for them, and even though N'Guiamba, Fuchs, Patois or Studer also tried their luck, the troop often suffered the force of Mulhouse percussion, without however giving up, which gives a positive note to their performance. The arrival of Lamotte and the return of Quentin Zimmermann brought a little precision and determination, which is another positive point.
On one side or the other, the confectioners' truce will allow organizations to recover. We can then hope that the Titans, like the Scorpions, restart their final stretch of the championship in full force, and fully pumped up, next January. If Mulhouse is already assured of competing in the play-offs, Colmar is still in line to claim it. We will have to not let go of any match, which is within their reach, given their voluntary hockey.
Starting with the one against the Strasbourg reserve, itself in search of qualification, and which will be, for the two Haut-Rhinois clubs, their first opponent of the year 2025!
Mulhouse – Colmar 9-3 (4-1, 3-1, 2-1)
Saturday December 21, 2024 at 6:15 p.m. at the Illberg ice rink. 1402 spectators
Referees: MM. Justin Chouleur and Christophe Moncozet.
Penalties: Mulhouse 15' (2', 6', 2'+5'); Colmar 11' (2', 4', 5').
Shots: Mulhouse 35 (11, 14, 10); Colmar 17 (6, 6, 5).
Evolution of the score:
1-0 at 10'11'': Oswald assisted by Haffner (num. sup.)
1-1 at 10'17'': L. Studer assisted by R. Studer
2-1 at 11'35'': Sonnet assisted by Deslauriers and Oswald
3-1 at 15'39'': Le Blond
4-1 at 16'16'': Oswald assisted by Marchand and Kaistila
4-2 at 22'06'': Lamotte assisted by Miclo
5-2 at 24'00'': Chauvel assisted by Kaistila and Oswald
6-2 at 29'31'': Fuss assisted by Zorita and Marchand (inf. num.)
7-2 at 37'18'': Da Silva assisted by Deslauriers
8-2 at 42'52'': Ackermann assisted by Mathez
9-3 at 55'39'': Haffner
9-4 at 55'49'': Miclo assisted by Lamotte and Karcher
Mulhouse
Attackers:
Michael Marchand (C) – Noah Oswald (2'+5') – Teo Haffner
Julien Burgert – Quentin Mathez – Thomas Ackermann (2')
Kylian Dufour (2') – Vincent Da Silva (A) – Tom Muller
Arnaud Fuss (2') – Mathieu Le Blond – Quentin Chauvel
Defenders:
Vincent Deslauriers – Joachim Sonnet (A)
Linus Kaistila – Aurélien Klesmann
Mathis Guth – Diego Zorita (2')
Then Corentin Huck – Valentin Poulain (at the end of the 3rd period)
Guardian :
Nicolas Jona then Lukas Paicheler at 52'15''
Colmar
Attackers:
Leo Studer – Bastien N’Guiamba – Renaud Studer (A) Then Paul Fuchs at 20'
Joan Koenig (A) – Victor Patois – Rayen Strayer
Alexandre Karcher – Jeremy Miclo – Ryan Lamotte
Defenders:
Quentin Zimmermann – Eloi Lenner (2')
Lucas Maurer (C, 2’) – Edouard Alves
Noah Bean – Ilian Eigelthinger (2’+5’)
Paul Fuchs [jusqu’à 20’]
Guardian :
Anatoli Sizov then Quentin Hartmann at 48'23''
Absent: Jonathan Boehrer (professional reasons), Romain Piazzon (fibula fracture), Antoine Dauthier
