In the Netherlands, the play-offs started this weekend. In the quarter-finals (best-of three), title favorites UZSC and ZV De Zaan stayed unbeaten for the next round. Polar Bears and GZC Donk needed a tiebreaker on Sunday to get rid of Het Ravijn and ZPC Amersfoort. Both games were decided with penalties.
ZV De Zaan was too strong for AZC in two matches. On Friday, the number 2 of the regular season was supreme. After three periods, AZC looked at a gap of no less than 9:2. On Saturday it was not much more exciting in Alphen aan den Rijn, although it took a little longer before ZV De Zaan shrugged off the reigning cup winner.Â
Reigning champion UZSC eliminated BZC in two games. In the first game, the four-time national champion went along excellently for three periods with the Utrecht top favorite, but in the last period UZSC took distance. The same course the next day. In its own pool, BZC stayed close to UZSC for a long time. The last period was started with a 9:10 stand. In the last period, however, the home team was unable to score, while UZSC found the net three more times. It was Benjamin Hoepelman, Bram van den Bersselaar and Benjamin Hessels who finally dropped the curtain for BZC.
UZSC will meet GZC Donk in the semi-finals next week. The team from Gouda needed three games to beat ZPC Amersfoort. On Friday, GZC Donk was too strong with 11:12, but a day later ZPC Amersfoort won. On Sunday, it seemed for a long time that ZPC Amersfoort would also win the third game. Halfway through Jeroen Cavaljé’s team was ahead with 8:4, but in the third and fourth period the visitors turned the tide. The 10:10 of Quint van den Heuvel meant that the decision had to come by penalties. It took eight penalties. ZPC Amersfoort twice had the opportunity to deliver the final blow, but both times GZC Donk goalkeeper Bram van Rossum was in the way. When Spaniard Erik Brugué did score on the other side, Sam Kunz had to score to keep Amersfoort in the game. However, he missed, making GZC Donk the third semi-finalist.
The last semi-finalist is Polar Bears. After losing to Het Ravijn on Friday, the team from Ede made up for that deficit on Saturday and Sunday. Both times it turned out to penalties. And then Polar Bears has a golden trump card with the keeper of the national team Eelco Wagenaar. On Saturday, regular time ended at 8:8. In the penalty series, Sander Roels shot the winner against the ropes. A day later, it looked like for a long time that no decision would be necessary from five meters. After three periods it was 12:7 and there seemed to be no cloud in the sky for Het Ravijn. But in an unlikely last period, the comeback kids from Ede came all the way back into the game. Het Ravijn did not score anymore, against five goals from Polar Bears. In the penalty series this time it was star Tom de Weerd who took care of the decisive goal. He and his team can now prepare for the semi-final against ZV De Zaan.
Eredivisie MenÂ
Quarterfinals (best-of-three)
Friday April 30
ZV De Zaan – AZC 11:5 (4:1, 3:0, 2:1, 2:3)
ZV De Zaan: Mick van den Bree 3, Thomas Lucas 1, Erno Snoek 1, Phil Brandjes 1, Tim Ketelaars 1, Unknown 4.
AZC: Laszlo Balasz 3, Attila Kincses 1, Nathan de Zwaan 1.Â
ZPC Amersfoort – GZC Donk 11:12 (4:5, 1:0, 3:5, 3:2)
ZPC Amersfoort: Mitchell Budding 3, Sebastiaan van Mil 3, Max van der Werve 2, Jesse Koopman 2, Danny Budding 1.Â
GZC Donk: Kjeld Veenhuis 4, Stan van den Heuvel 3, Guus van Yperen 1, Cas Westerwoudt 1, Maurice Dentro 1, Erik Brugué 1, Quint van den Heuvel 1.
Het Ravijn – Polar Bears 11:9 (3:3, 4:4, 2:1, 2:1)
Het Ravijn: Emiel Wouters 3, Jorn Muller 2, Sander Veltkamp 2, Bas ter Brake 1, Yoran Loos 1, Lars Gottemaker 1, Ivar Schilstra 1.Â
Polar Bears: Tom de Weerd 4, Sander Roels 2, Rick Meijer 1, Guus Wolswinkel 1, Kas te Riele 1.
UZSC – BZC 9:6 (3:3, 2:1, 0:1, 4:1)
UZSC: Benjamin Hoepelman 4, Bram van den Bersselaar 2, Joep de Jong 1, Sook Willemsen 1, Sebastian Hessels 1.
BZC: Filip Kljajevic 4, Joep Lankwaarden 1, Adam Tamas 1.
Saturday May 1
GZC Donk – ZPC Amersfoort 8:10 (2:3, 2:2, 2:4, 2:1)Â
GZC Donk: Stan van den Heuvel 2, Quint van den Heuvel 1, Erik Brugué 1, Ton van der Velden 1, Maurice Dentro 1, Mart van der Weijden 1, Tijs Schouwerwou 1.
ZPC Amersfoort: Mees Keuning 2, Jesse Koopman 2, Sam Kunz 1, Lars Reuten 1, Jort van der Werve 1, Mitchell Budding 1, Jorren Hanselaar 1, Max van der Werve 1.Â
AZC – ZV De Zaan 5:10 (1:2, 1:1, 1:3, 2:4)
AZC: Ezra de Zwaan 1, Laszlo Balasz Nagy 1, Attila Kincses 1, Robin Lindhout 1, Sven Schoonderwoerd 1.Â
ZV De Zaan: Thomas Lucas 4, Angelo Corver 3, Rick Keijzer 1, Tim Ketelaars 1, Unknown 1.Â
Polar Bears – Het Ravijn 14:13 (2:2, 2:3, 2:1, 2:2, 6:5)
Polar Bears: Guus Wolswinkel 4, Tom de Weerd 4, Kas te Riele 2, Sander Roels 2, Rick Meijer 1, Tarik Scherrenburg 1.
Het Ravijn: Lars Gottemaker 4, Yoran Loos 3, Emiel Wouters 2, Jorrit Aanstoot 2, Jorn Muller 1, Sam Stertefeld 1.  Â
BZC – UZSC 9:13 (3:3, 3:3, 3:4, 0:3)
BZC: Dynand Muller 3, Bilal Gbadamassi 2, Jan-Willem Slaghuis 1, Filip Kljajevic 1, Unknown 2.
UZSC: Benjamin Hoepelman 4, Sebastian Hessels 3, Benjamin Hessels 3, Bram van den Bersselaar 1, Sook Willemsen 1, Gies Wijnhoven 1. Â
Sunday May 2
ZPC Amersfoort – GZC Donk 14:15 (5:4, 3:0, 1:2, 1:4, 4:5)
ZPC Amersfoort: Jesse Koopman 5, Max van der Werve 3, Lars Reuten 2, Sam Kunz 2, Mark Siewers 1, Jorren Hanselaar 1.Â
GZC Donk: Guus van Yperen 4, Maurice Dentro 2, Cas Westerwoudt 2, Erik Brugué 2, Ton van der Velden 1, Jimmy Sjardijn 1, Tijs Schouwerwou 1, Quint van den Heuvel 1, Stan van den Heuvel 1.
Het Ravijn – Polar Bears 16:17 (5:2, 2:0, 5:5, 0:5, 4:5).
Het Ravijn: Emiel Wouters 4, Jorn Muller 3, Yoran Loos 3, Bas ter Brake 2, Sander Veltkamp 2, Ivar Schilstra 1, Jorrit Aanstoot 1.Â
Polar Bears: Tom de Weerd 6, Kas te Riele 4, Guus Wolswinkel 3, Tarik Scherrenburg 2, Kay Zittersteijn 1, Sander Roels 1.
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