Tigers Straubing: New squad, old problems – start to the season full of surprises!

Tigers Straubing: New squad, old problems – start to the season full of surprises!

In ice hockey, which is popular in Germany and where the excitement increases from season to season, the Straubing Tigers team under the leadership of head coach Tom Pokel has developed into a serious opponent in the PENNY DEL. After last year's impressive season, in which the Tigers took third place after the main round and reached the semi-finals of the league, expectations for the new season are correspondingly high. Entering the Champions Hockey League further strengthens these ambitions. The preparation shows that the Tigers are prepared for significant changes.

The challenge of competing in both the PENNY DEL and the Champions Hockey League requires extensive squad adjustments. The Tigers made numerous changes this summer. Nine players, including long-time regular Sandro Schönberger, have left the team or ended their careers. This means that coach Pokel had to integrate twelve new recruits into his team in order to meet the demands of the new season.

New goalkeeper duo

One of the biggest challenges in the squad concerns the goalkeeper position. The previous goalkeeper Hunter Miska, who impressed as number one in the last two seasons, is moving to the KHL in Moscow. His departure was painful for the team, but those responsible acted quickly and signed Zane McIntyre, who has extensive AHL experience of over 300 games. Sports manager Jason Dunham is optimistic that McIntyre will be a valuable asset and that the collaboration with the young goalkeepers can be successful. Together with the talented Florian Bugl, he will form the new goalkeeper team.

Defensively, the change remains somewhat more moderate. The team has to say goodbye to experienced defensemen Cody Lampl and Benedikt Kohl, while the vacant positions will be filled by former Düsseldorf player Nicolas Geitner and Alex Green, most recently active with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. These defensive strategies will be crucial to increase defensive stability.

Reinforcement in attack

The Tigers have created an exciting face on offense with eight new attackers. While some regular players like Parker Tuomie and Tyler Sheehy left the team, the Tigers were able to bring back experienced players like Taylor Leier and Travis St. Denis who were previously with the team. Two young talents from Landshut, Tobias Schwarz and Simon Seidel, were also brought in to promote competition in the U23 sector and bring a breath of fresh air into the team. The addition of three players from the Ice Tigers from Nuremberg will be particularly noticeable - Tim Fleischer, Danjo Leonhardt and Elis Hede bring not only speed but also bite to the attacking game.

Many eyes are on Skyler McKenzie, who previously played for the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven and scored an impressive 44 points in 91 games over the last two years. The combination of all these elements aims to take the team to a whole new level in the new season.

Despite the promising lineups and new additions, the Tigers had a bumpy start to the season. After the spectacular opening win against Düsseldorfer EG with 7:2, five defeats in a row followed, which plunged the team into a crisis of results. It was only last Sunday that the Tigers were finally able to celebrate another win when they beat Schwenningen 2-1, giving hope for a turnaround in the season.

The developments surrounding the Straubing Tigers show that the team is striving to build on the successes of the previous season. But the high expectations must now be translated into results and the team will be challenged to prove themselves in the coming games.

To the statistics »