The longest-serving lion as the new captain
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fromMarkus Katzenbach
conclude
Max Faber played his part in the strong Löwen start in the DEL-2 round. As a goalscorer, as so often before, and now also as a captain.
Frankfurt – Even ice hockey professionals sometimes work on the computer, even on days off. As usual after every game, the coaching team sent each player a link to a video with the personally tailored ice ages of each Frankfurt Lion, and so Max Faber started his computer on Monday for individual follow-up work. “I like to do it. You can always take something with you and see exactly what was good and what was bad,” explains the new captain of the promotion candidate from the second class. Satisfied? “Not at all with the first third, the second and third third were okay. But there is still room for improvement.”
That may apply to all Löwen, after a first game, which from Frankfurt’s point of view was already a very gratifying war, and all the more the whole first weekend of the new DEL-2 season. The 5: 3 against ESV Kaufbeuren from Sonntagdaheim on Ratsweg, after more than one and a half corona years without an audience, finally back in front of its own fans, was finally preceded by an even more convincing 3-0 at the start at EHC Freiburg on Friday evening. Much more than with such a six-point double pack and exceptions to the results Even promising appearances, the dream destination DEL could hardly have started.
“That”, says Faber about the visit to Freiburg, “was a very, very good start”. Played very disciplined, defended very closely: “After our lead, I didn’t have the feeling that Freiburg could turn it around.” And that is what distinguishes a good team: That everyone can benefit from the team’s success through their own point of interest.
This Frankfurt squad is a mixture of eleven old and eleven new lions, who of course are still in the middle of the process of getting together – especially since the preparation was difficult, disrupted by several corona cases in the team, which also resulted in test failures. “We’re missing a few games and training sessions,” said Faber.
Against Kaufbeuren there were a few more problems, but the lions die got the corner. “Nobody played well in the first third,” says Faber, “but we said to each other in the dressing room before the coaches came in: We have to play easier and more together.” In fact, it was a different game after that.
On this occasion, the 28-year-old, born in Hagen, could be challenged even more in the future. In his fifth year as a lion, Max Faber, previously a leading player, was named captain. “It’s an incredible honor for me, but also a great responsibility,” he says. “I saw Pat Jarrett here myself in the first year and then Adam Mitchell for three years as captains. These are real role models I can learn a lot for years. Now I’m trying to put it into practice. ” Although, Faber emphasizes, there are many experienced players in the squad who would also take the floor – and he can sometimes hold back. Like Kyle Sonnenburg, Carson MacMillan or Dylan Wruck during the first break on Sunday, they agreed anyway – and in the end they were successful.
For the longest-serving lion, as for the other players and the whole club, it’s a fresh start. The previous season with a lot of corona and other problems, with the initial dream of promotion, which was particularly difficult for Faber himself because a cartilage damage in his knee forced him to watch for a long time, is ticked off, especially since: “We had a big upheaval and we have many fresher faces. “
It’s an experienced team whose greatest strength the defender frankly admits to their offensive colleagues: “We have a lot of creative players who should be given a certain amount of freedom so that they can develop.” Although three defensive goals were necessary against Kaufbeuren: Faber himself and Kevin Maginot scored in the majority, Bobby Raymond out of the game. “The coaches always preach that we as defenders should also be involved in the front,” reports Max Faber. “Bobby’s goal was the perfect example of this.”
On the other hand, the fact that there is still a lack of determination in one’s own defense, that one has to purposefully get the disc out of the defensive zone via passes or simple attempts at clarification, are construction sites for him in the near future. “But I’m not worried about that, it’ll come,” says Max Faber. “We now have two more games more video material, the coaches will be able to show us a lot. That will be a step better in Kassel.”
On Friday (7.30 p.m.) for the third day of the game, the Hessian duel started with the huskies, who, unlike the lions, made a false start with two defeats, and that is perhaps even more explosive than it is already. Until then there will be one or the other object lesson for Max Faber and Co., whether at home on the computer or certainly on the big screen in the catacombs on Ratsweg.