An early start for both teams of pool A who both played their second games of the tournament at 9h15. Volunteers and organizers were also up early preparing to welcome the teams and visitors for this second day of competition.
On Pitch 1 – First win of the competition for HC Rotweiss Wettingen against Gintra Strekte Uni HC 2-1. This win keeps HC Rotweiss on the road to the accession game but unfortunately means that Gintra will have to play the relegation game on Monday. On Pitch 2, spectators attended a tight and beautiful game between Clydesdale Western and Sk Slavia Prague which saw the Scottish team win their first game 3-2. These 3 teams can still access the accession game which will offer some exciting games tomorrow.
Whilst waiting for the evening games, the Ball Patrol crew enjoyed a well-deserved session with the Tom Boon Hockey Camp. In the meantime, the host’s volunteers team prepared the venue with the sun still shining brightly and soaring temperatures even melting the ice supplies.
The evening games from Pool B were quite a contrast to the previous evening’s play. On Pitch 2, Braxgata opened the score quickly, within the second minute of the game, but they were then caught out during the second quarter with a goal from HC St Petersburg and then struggled to find the net until the middle of the third quarter. This second goal opened the road to more, offering Braxgata a large victory 7-1 against HC St Petersburg. On Pitch 1, host team Lille left their supporters in suspense as they were unable to open the score despite numerous chances from a series of penalty corners blocked by strong and dense defence from Luzerner and their outstanding goalkeeper. Finally, their efforts were rewarded at the end of the third quarter which lead to a comfortable 2-0 win. Tomorrow Braxgata and Lille will fight for the first place of pool B.
Looking forward to another exciting day on the sunny pitches of Lille: we are ready for day three of the tournament and the suspense of the pool rankings…
Yozine