The 2021/22 RBIHF Division 1 ice hockey season has been one like no-other. In what is perhaps a reflection of the current times we live in, “Unpredictable” is the best way to describe the state of play at the halfway point of the season. Herentals Toekomssteam, who ended the abandoned 2019/20 season in 1st place, are currently 7th. The Leuven Chiefs, historically one of the most successful teams in Belgium, lie at the bottom of the division, despite a 3-8 win over the 4th-placed Knights. At the top of the league, the newly formed Mechelen Whales sit in 2nd place. Finally, the Antwerp Phantoms, who in 2019 were fighting to avoid last place, today are among the favourites for the championship, having scored an average of 11.4 goals per game. There have been upset results all-season long. On Saturday 8th January 2022, the trend of unpredictability continued for the Beaufort Knights of Luxembourg in a 1-5 loss to Olympia Heist. A scoreline which didn’t always reflect the match itself.

 

  The 1st period began on a snowy night in the north of Luxembourg in front of a reduced-capacity crowd of 200 fans as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. Although substantially less than the typical 400-550 attendance, the Beaufort Knights still attract the largest crowds in the RBIHF Div 1 by a huge margin. The home fans at Beaufort Ice Park were in good voice and cheered the Knights on throughout a goalless first period in which both teams had good offensive opportunities.

 

  Reminiscent of the 3-8 defeat in Leuven back in November, the 2nd period would prove to be the Knights Achilles-heel. 30 seconds into the period and Olympia Heist were on the board after the defence failed to close down Jentl Buelens who walked in from the blue line and had a clear shot on goal to score. Less than 2 minutes later it was 0-2 after Tom Peeters hunted down the puck and after some sloppy defending from the Knights, found himself alone in front of Michel Welter to tap in a pass from Don Geerts. Things went from bad to worse 30 seconds after that when Arne Van Espen powered his way through the middle of the ice and past 3 Knights to fire in the 0-3 goal. Throughout the entire match there appeared to be a disconnect between the Knights’ defence and offensive players. Although on offence there were good chances that either hit the post or would just not bounce right, the defence were left exposed and outnumbered on countless occasions. If not for possibly Michel Welter’s best game of the season in goal, the score could have been a lot higher. Despite a pair of minor fights which resulted in players from both teams being ejected from the match, play settled back into the close-fought contest of the 1st period. That was until a bad line change in defence from Beaufort and a stretch-pass from Heist sent Kevin Glassee and Jonathan Rymenants racing in on a 2-on-0 to score, leaving Michel Welter with absolutely no chance. The 2nd period ended Knights 0-4 Olympia Heist.

 

  Early in the 3rd period the Knights would finally get on the scoresheet through top-scorer Brad Holman. After cleverly lifting the stick of a Heist defenceman to receive a pass from Sacha Backes, Holman fired a snap-shot into the top corner to make the score 1-4 and re-kindle some hope for the home side. Throughout the period the men from Beaufort had chances to reduce the deficit but were denied time and time again by the outstanding Jente Vanroy, who continues to prove that women can be amongst the elite players in the division. She would make 29 saves to give Olympia Heist the chance to win and at 56:11 Kevin Glassee would score on yet another breakaway to make it 1-5 and move Heist back to the top of the division standings.

 

  The Beaufort Knights now have 2 weeks off to rest and prepare for what will be the busiest week of the season. A must-win LHL matchup on Tuesday 25th January against Puckers Luxembourg will be followed by back-to-back home games in the Belgian Division 1 against Kortrijk and Antwerp on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th January respectively. One thing is for sure though, fans should expect the unexpected.

 

Article by Liam McEvoy