Captain Jan Urbas, pictured in the center, scored twice in Sweden on Tuesday. IMAGO
The Fischtown Pinguins continue to make ice hockey history: Coach Alexander Sulzer’s team has reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time. They are the second German team ever to achieve this, following EHC Red Bull München in 2019. On Tuesday evening, the Bremerhavener team secured a 5:1 victory against Swedish champions Skelleftea AIK, having already won the first leg spectacularly with a score of 5:0 against last year’s finalists just a week earlier.
Following the initial reward of €65,000, an additional €35,000 in bonuses will now flow into the Pinguins’ coffers, as they compete against a Swiss team for a spot in the semi-finals in December – specifically against the winner of the round of 16 duel between Lausanne and Servette Geneva, who meet for their return leg on Wednesday. In the first game, Geneva won away with a score of 5:0. From the Pinguins’ perspective, the difference is significant: they would have a home match against Lausanne, while the decisive second leg against Geneva would take place in the Bremerhaven ice arena. The first leg of the quarter-finals is scheduled for December 3 and 4, with the return legs set for December 17.
The trip for the round of 16 match in Sweden was a monumental effort and an extraordinary adventure for the club. While the Bremerhaven ice hockey professionals are used to traveling long hours by team bus throughout Germany, even at night, such a day trip to northern Sweden was unprecedented. Early in the morning on match day, the team took a bus to Bremen Airport, flew to Sweden, checked into a day hotel for lunch, and then headed to the ice stadium in the late afternoon. After the match (starting at 6 PM), they returned directly to the airport for a flight back to Bremen, and from there, took a bus home to Bremerhaven, arriving well after midnight. Thus, the team was on the road for almost 24 hours to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
In the first leg, goalkeeper Maxi Franzreb kept a clean sheet, and his competitor Kristers Gudlevskis had the chance to do the same in the second leg – a situation that everyone anticipated would lead to a tough defensive battle. The plan was to withstand the strong Swedish champions for as long as possible to keep the host’s hopes for a small ice hockey miracle at bay.
On paper, Skelleftea AIK is still an exceptionally talented European top team, but in practice, things have been chaotic. Head coach Robert Ohlsson was dismissed a few weeks ago, just before the team shockingly plummeted to eighth place in the domestic league. According to the Swedish tabloid “Expressen”, he reportedly said that fans were “irrelevant” to him, as they only liked you when you win and criticized you when you lose. The club found this unacceptable. His assistants Pierre Johnsson and Andreas Falk took over the coaching duties.
However, instead of turning their pre-match bravado into action (“If Bremerhaven can score five goals, we can too”), Gudlevskis had little to do during the match. The Latvian made two saves, along with a spectacular rescue from Dominik Uher during a Swedish counter-attack. The Fischtown defense had little to contend with in the opening phase. Meanwhile, Bremerhaven dazzled offensively – and just like in the first leg, they were ahead 4:0 after the first period. Phillip Bruggisser, Christian Wejse, Max Görtz, and Jan Urbas were the scorers. This meant that the Pinguins had a cumulative lead of 9:0 after the first period. Anyone predicting this outcome a few weeks ago would have been laughed at. In the second period, the Swedes were stronger, but Gudlevskis kept a clean sheet. In the final period, Urbas increased the lead to 5:0. Oscar Lindberg, however, managed to score a consolation goal five minutes before the end.
In the stands, longtime manager Alfred Prey celebrated with the team, saying, “To be in the quarter-finals now feels like a wonderful fairy tale. Our team has played great ice hockey in both duels.” The Pinguins team remains on the road: on Friday, they face DEL action in Straubing (7:30 PM), followed by an away game in Mannheim on Sunday (4:30 PM).
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