IIn the current season of DEL2, very successful ice hockey is being played at Bad Nauheimer Kurpark. But the EC Bad Nauheim game at the outdoor ice rink is even more successful. At the start of the season, the Red Devils won eight games in a row, with only the Ravensburg Towerstars able to break the series. But because things are not getting worse at the Colonel Knight Stadium at home, the Nauheimers belong to the top teams in the league and are currently fourth in the table, which guarantees them a direct entry into the play-offs.
The success game coordinator at Bad Nauheim is Harry Lange. After ending his career as a player at Bad Nauheim, the Austrian previously assisted two head coaches before he was promoted to first team head coach at the end of the 2020/21 season. He has known the position since 2012, when Bad Nauheim was still playing in the Oberliga Süd (3rd division), but did not necessarily see an advantage: “It could be an advantage because I know the people involved and Maybe there’s a little leap of faith. On the other hand, it’s a completely new situation. They’re behind you, but you can still be quickly questioned: Can he even do that?” The current season is the first that his With was planned as head coach, and there’s no reason for the people around you to question Harry Lang’s status.
Good skaters and impeccable human characters
Last season, the Nauheim defense was one of the worst in the league. This season he is in third place based on the number of goals scored. But the squad transformation initiated by Lang didn’t stop in the offensive department. “We were very slow, in defense, like the whole team,” he said in an interview with FAZ, addressing the weaknesses. In the summer good skaters and impeccable human characters were sought and found.
There is 37-year-old Tobias Varley, who came from ESV Kaufbeuren and took over the captaincy immediately. “He’s a really cool character and one of the fastest players on the team. What he’s still going around is amazing,” says the head coach. But players from Canada and the USA squad are also valuable to the team. They are also high on the scorers list. There is something more important to Harry Lang: “Of course they should run our game too, but they should also be able to play the game without discs.” “Every coach’s goal is 60 minutes. To see a consistently good ice hockey game by your team. We have not succeeded yet,” he categorically criticized his team.
economic base
The success of the game in Bad Nauheim is all based on economic grounds for which Andreas Ortwin has been responsible since 2008. EC Bad Nauheim is feeling the effects of the pandemic, but Ortwein says: “We are currently in an orderly state.” Continue playing with the audience. We have to find a way to live with the pandemic together with the politicians.”
The long-term goal is to greet these spectators in a modern ice rink that has evolved to meet the demands of professional sports. The Col Knight stadium has a high recognition value and is popular among fans of the club, but promotion to EC Bad Nauheim in the DEL is not possible with this ice stadium. The pandemic is slowing planning. However, Managing Director Ortwin is optimistic that he will publish a preliminary plan with an architecture office in the coming year. “Current time it becomes difficult to plan the cost and infrastructure position. So we need a little more time than we initially anticipated for this,” he says.
Managing directors and coaches alike are aware of the difficulty of repeating a strong first half of the season. Even though EC Bad Nauheim may not go ahead, Ortwin is optimistic: “We want to go to the play-offs and play our best ice hockey there. We will give everything we can to get as far as we can.”
