A series of quarterfinal games of the playoffs in Germany was held at the end of last week. The teams that finished 1st – 3rd in the regular season (Spandau 04, ASC Duisburg, Waspo 98 Hannover) secured their spots in the semifinals with two wins in the first two games.
The most exciting encounter of the quarters was the one between 4th-placed Ludwigsburg and White Sharks Hannover (5th place). White Sharks advanced to the semifinals after three matches.
2022/23 German League, Quarterfinals (best of three)
Spandau 04 – Krefeld 1972 25:5 (5:0, 6:1, 8:2, 6:2)
Spandau 04: Chiru 7, Restovic 4, Strelezkij 4, Andruskiewicz 3, Prioteasa 2, Bozic 2, Marziali 2, Juengling 1.
Krefeld: Kijstra 2, E. Metten 1, Laug 1, Machidenko 1.
Spandau 04 – Krefeld 1972 21:6 (5:1, 4:2, 6:1, 6:2)
Spandau 04: Gbadamassi 5, Bozic 3, Restovic 3, Cuk 3, Juengling 2, Kholod 2, Chiru 1, Shepelev 1, Andruskiewicz 1.
Krefeld 1972: L. Metten 3, Huber 2, E. Metten 1.
Spandau finished its job in the quarterfinals with two huge wins in less than 24 hours. The clubs agreed to play the first two games in Berlin (according to the rules, Krefeld should be the host in the first game). Krefeld, which finished 1st in the 2nd league and secured its spot in the playoffs, couldn’t offer strong resistance to the Berliners. Spandau, which had a perfect 14-0 record in the regular season, cruised to the semifinals.
OSC Potsdam – ASC Duisburg 5:6 (1:1, 2:1, 0:2, 2:2)
OSC Potsdam:Hofmann 2, Dyck 1, Zezelj 1, Korbel 1.
ASC Duisburg: Gusakov 2, Eidner 1, Simic 1, Ilinger 1, Gergelyfi 1.
ASC Duisburg – OSC Potsdam 12:7 (3:2, 3:3, 3:1, 3:1)
ASC Duisburg:Eidner 4, Seifert 3, Kuppers 1, Sekulic 1, Gusakov 1, Rompf 1.
OSC Potsdam: A. Hofmann 3, Huppe 2, Korbel 1, T.Hofmann 1
ASC Duisburg was the favorite in the clashes with OSC Potsdam, but the 2nd-placed team in the regular season had to dig deep to advance to the semifinals, especially in a low-scoring game in Potsdam. OSC led 3:2 at the middle break. The visitors opened the second half with three straight goals and earned a 5:3 advantage. But, after Duisburg’s series, OSC halved the deficit immediately (4:5). Still, it couldn’t equalize. The teams exchanged goals midway through the final period. Four minutes before the end, ASC had a 6:5 advantage and it turned out to be the final score. OSC had a man-up in its last attack, but it failed to equalize and ASC opened the playoffs with a narrow win.
As for the second match, OSC kept with Duisburg in the first half. The Potsdam-based team leveled the score just once. In the last minute of the second period, Till Hofmann made it 5:5. But, Kuppers gave the hosts a 6:5 advantage four seconds before the end of the half. After the middle break, ASC dictated the pace for a comfortable 12:7 win.
I Pairs of the semifinals (best of 3): Waspo98 Hannover – ASC Duisburg, White Sharks – Spandau 04. ASC Duisburg and Spandau will be the hosts in the 2nd and eventual 3rd matches
Neukolln – Waspo 98 Hannover 6:17 (0:2, 2:6, 2:4, 2:5)
Neukolln Berlin: Augusti 2, Hubscher 1, Filo 1, Zech 1, Fehn 1.
Waspo 98: Basic 3, Corusic 2, Radovic 2, Lozina 2, Gansen 2, Benic 2, L.Schutze 1, Grosse 1, F.Schutze 1, Kubisch 1.
Waspo 98 – Neukolln 22:2 (8:0, 4:1, 7:1, 3:0)
Waspo 98 Hannover: Macan 5, Corusic 3, L.Schutze 3, F.Schutze 2, Radovic 2, Lozina 2, Gansen 2, Benic 2, Grosse 1.
Neukolln: Zech 2.
Reigning champion Waspo Hannover was too strong for Neukolln in both games. The scores say everything.
White Sharks – Ludwigsburg 17:12 (5:2, 2:4, 7:4, 3:2)
White Sharks: Stankovic 4, Schipper 3, J.Rotermund 3, Hulshoff 2, Struss 1, F.Rotermund 1, Jaschke 1, Froreich 1, Covaci 1.
Ludwigsburg 08: Bauer 3, Prieto 3, Blazevic 2, Dimitrov 1, Mijatovic 1, Metodiev 1, Skiljic 1.
Ludwigsburg – White Sharks 12:11 (0:2, 1:2, 3:2, 5:3, PSO 3:2)
Luwigsburg 08: Blazevic 3, Pavicic 2, Dimitrov 2, Skiljic 2, Bauer 1, Mijatovic 1, Lipar 1,.
White Sharks: Schipper 3, Forreich 3, Hulshoff 2, F.Rotermund 1, Stankovic 1, Jaschke 1.
Ludwigsburg – White Sharks 7:16 (2:2, 4:3, 1:8, 0:3)
Ludwigsburg 08:Mijatovic 2, Bauer 1, Pavicic 1, Lipar 1, Prieto 1, Blazevic 1.
White Sharks Hannover: Schipper 3, Struss 2, J.Rotermund 2, Stankovic 2, Jaschke 2, Froreich 2, Hulshoff 2, F.Rotermund 1.
As mentioned, the duels between White Sharks and Ludwigsburg produced a lot of excitement.
White Sharks started well in the first game, played in Hannover, and took a 5:1 lead. But, the visitors came back into the game quickly, scoring five goals in a row. In the middle of the second quarter, Ludwigsburg went in front (6:5). Still, White Sharks regained an advantage before halftime (7:6). The home side controlled the match in the second half.
Then, the series of encounters moved to Ludwigsburg. White Sharks kept the momentum and were in front for most of the second match. Early in the fourth quarter, the visitors were three steps ahead of Ludwigsburg (7:4). But, the contest wasn’t over yet. Ludwigsburg leveled at 8:8 in the 30th minute, and White Sharks replied in the next possession to come very close to a win (9:8). However, the visitors couldn’t keep a slim advantage. Vitor Pavicic scored an equalizer in the very last second (9:9) and prolonged the match in a shootout. Ludwigsburg was better in the series of penalties, so the third match decided the winner.
The third game produced new twists and turns. This time, the beginning of the match belonged to Ludwigsburg. The hosts had a two goals advantage in the first half (5:3, 6:4). Still, they ran out of gas for the second half, in which White Sharks scored 11 and conceded only one goal.
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