For the first time since 2018, there will once again be a team from the highest German league, the Straubing Tigers, at the traditional tournament in Davos this December.  With a victory, the team from Lower Bavaria could become the first German Spengler Cup champion in this century. The last title by a German team dates back to 1999.

Generally, every Spengler Cup final is special, each writing a unique story. But the one in 1999 will be remembered as especially hard-fought and vicious. In that game between the Cologne Haie and the then Russian champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the refs called 147 penalty minutes. The atmosphere was not only tense on the ice. The infamous climax came when a bottle thrown after the final siren hit the Cologne player Andreas Lupzig in the head during a victory lap.
One of the reasons for the charged atmosphere was a controversial play in the group stage matchup on December 28, when Haie top scorer Corey Millen left the ice with a broken wrist following a Russian slash and was unavailable to Cologne for many following weeks. But that was not the only reason the Germans were out for revenge – the narrow shootout loss in that game and the fact it had been Cologne’s fourth participation without a title, added further motivation for the team.
In addition, the man behind the bench, Lance Nethery, could look back at a successful history as both a player and coach in Davos and was, thus, well aware of the tournament’s idiosyncrasies. The Canadian had played for HCD for five seasons, and, as the top scorer, contributed heavily to the two championship titles in 1984 and 1985. Following that, he led the team from Grisons back to the National League B in his first year as coach in 1991. He coached the DEL club Adler Mannheim from 1994 to 1999, during which he won three consecutive German championships from 1997 to 1999.

In Davos, Cologne faced a team, which was not only the reigning Russian champion, but also had several superstars on their roster such as Valeri Karpov, Ravil Gusmanov, and Sergey Gomolyako.
The final stood in a bad light right from the get-go. Due to their history, both teams went in overly motivated, developing into a vicious, hard-fought final. The German referee Peter Slapke called 147 penalty minutes, of which 71 already came in the first period - 83 against the Haie and 52 against Metallurg. Slapke also ended the first period after only 18 minutes, when both benches were unable to calm down following a line brawl. Even tournament manager Fredi Pargatzi visited the locker rooms, pleading with both teams to come to reason. The game finally ended in a clear 6-2 victory for the Cologne Haie.

To this day, Lance Nethery calls this triumph one of the highlights of his career. ‘This win was a surprise for many - admittedly, for us, too. We had a very good team, played against good teams, and had good fortune on our side.’ Nethery also emphasizes the effect that this victory by a DEL team had in Germany. ‘Up to that point, few knew about the Spengler Cup in Germany. Then, hockey fans and the press suddenly became much more interested in the tournament.’ So, the formerly successful coach appreciates that in the Straubing Tigers another German team is once again amongst the group of competitors. ‘That’s great for both the tournament and Germany. There will certainly be many German fans traveling to Davos. The Straubing Tigers have a great team and will, armed with some reinforcements, show some good hockey at the Spengler Cup.’

An in-depth interview with Lance Nethery can be found in the eighth Spengler Cup yearbook, which will be available at the beginning of December. In this issue, we will also take a comprehensive look at the 90’s, the decade which was athletically dominated by Team Canada and the Spengler Cup environment changed dramatically.

Tickets to the 96th Spengler Cup are available for presale online erhältlich. Further tickets to all games will be released continuously.

Quelle: Spengler Cup-Onlineredaktion    Foto: Archiv HCD