English translation; Luxemburger Wort article
23 December 2021
After its re-establishment and a year-long Corona break, the LHL turns out to be a real crowd-puller.
Football, basketball and table tennis are among the most popular sports in the Grand Duchy. Many Luxembourgers are familiar with players like Gerson Rodrigues, Bob Melcher or Sarah De Nutte, but when asked about ice hockey, it gets more difficult.
That may certainly have something to do with the fact that Tornado Luxembourg has been the reigning champion for 18 years. But not because the team was able to defend the title every year, but simply because the league was closed in 2003. As a consequence, the Luxembourg teams have only ever played abroad since then.
It is important that the teams that do not play abroad finally get more time on the ice and can play more games.
Gilles Mangen, LHL commissioner
The thesis that the Luxembourgers find it difficult to call an ice hockey player by name could soon be a thing of the past. Because for the 2020/21 season, the Luxembourg Hockey League (LHL) was introduced with two divisions, with the first season having to be canceled after one game due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
“With the revival of the ice hockey league, we want to bring movement into our sport and show that the teams don't just play abroad. Ice hockey is such a dynamic and fast sport and we hope to get more young people excited about it. Whether the players are recognized on the street in the end is not so important, "says Gilles Mangen, the commissioner of the league and board member at Tornado.
"But it is also important that the teams that do not play abroad finally get more time on the ice and can play more games."
In the second attempt
Now that large parts of the population have been vaccinated against Corona and both the association and clubs have had enough time to develop a security concept, the season was finally able to start this year with the second attempt - and with complete success.
“We hope that despite Corona we can end this season and there will finally be a new champion.”
Gilles Mangen
The league is divided into two divisions, especially because the differences in performance between the individual teams are sometimes quite large. In addition to Tornado Luxemburg, the first teams of the Beaufort Knights and the Puckers play in the first division.
In the second division play the reserve teams of the Knights and the Puckers, the Hiversport Huskies (youth team from Tornado, editor's note) and the Silverbacks, a team for ice hockey newbies.
“We hope that we can end this season despite Corona and that there will finally be a new champion. The division into two classes makes perfect sense, because when two teams compete against each other that are too far apart in terms of level, in the end nobody really enjoys it. "
Ice hockey in Luxembourg: Championship with eight teams for the first time
The round is completed by the Tornado Women, who were founded around two years ago. Even if the only women's team has not yet achieved a win, the focus here is clearly on having fun in the game and the team always manages to inspire new players for ice hockey.
Tornado plays in the third division in France and the Beforter in the first division in Belgium. But we are happy that there is now a Luxembourg ice hockey league again, the LHL.
Alain Schneider, Vice President at Tornado
Top game shows the potential
It's now halfway through the first season, so it's time to look back on what happened. In the first division, the Puckers Luxembourg currently lead the table with two wins from two games, followed by Tornado Luxembourg and the Beaufort Knights.
The potential of ice hockey in Luxembourg was shown in Befort at the top game between the knights and Tornado, the two most famous clubs. Both teams delivered a real spectacle in the last game before the season break.
The almost 700 fans who followed the long-awaited derby and a game that turned into an absolute thriller experienced an entertaining and exciting evening. The Knights were 2-1 ahead, but in the last ten minutes Tornado managed to turn the game around and claim a 3-2 win.
It couldn't have been more exciting and there couldn't have been a better evening for the entire ice hockey family in Luxembourg, the community agrees.
“You couldn't necessarily predict the Puckers to be leaders, especially since we (Tornado) have only lost one game to them in the past 17 years and have suffered two defeats this season”
Establish Luxembourg League
With the Beaufort Knights, currently third in the first division of the Belgian league, the second highest division in the country, Tornado Luxembourg, eighth in the third French division and the Puckers, second placed in the fifth French division, all three top clubs also play abroad.
“Of course, the clubs are still mainly focused on the foreign leagues, but maybe we will be able to postpone this a little with the new league,” said Mangen. "If you look at the number of spectators in ice hockey, that's not that bad, even in comparison to other sports."
A big problem in Luxembourg, however, is that there are currently only two real ice rinks to play on. The need would actually be there, but no municipality wants to spend money on it at the moment. Nevertheless, a better infrastructure would bring ice hockey further forward.
The national team can of course also beat the drum for Luxembourg ice hockey. Last but not least, it is hoped that the third division ice hockey world championship can take place in April next year and that it does not have to be canceled again - especially since Luxembourg is the host.
Article: André Klein
Foto: Ben Majerus