Tornado back in the 4th place

26 January 2020

On Saturday evening Les Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise had travelled to Luxembourg with a young team. Their technical skills and hockey sense were on a good level but physically they were not ready to challenge the experienced Tornado. Home team ended up taking 3 important points with a clear 8-2 win.

The game was settled in the first period

One of the Tornado’s key points before the game was to be ready from the first minute. In the last games the first period has been our weakest. This time it was different, very different, as during the first 20 minutes Tornado managed to score 6 goals and there was no doubt about the winner, already after the first period only.

Not the same drive anymore in the second and third period

The plan was to keep the same spirit in last two periods but it’s not that easy when the game is already settled. In these periods both teams scored two goals but not too much drama were experienced. Tornado’s best scorers were M Shorty Müller (1+2) and Matias Mäenpää (1+2). Phil Lepage entertained the good crowd of spectators with some nice saves and was chosen as the MVP of the game.

Back in the 4th spot

When at the same time Garges lost with clear numbers, 13-0 against Reims, Tornado took back the 4th position in standings and is 2 points ahead of Garges. Both teams have still one game left of the regular season. Tornado will play next weekend in Reims and the week after Garges will meet Asniéres. These games are very important for the playoffs as they will decide the opposing teams and how difficult (or easy) the path at the start of the playoffs will be.

The teams of our group will get an opponent from group A for the first round of playoffs. At the moment Tours is holding the 4th spot in that group and ACBB is 5th. Being 4th would give Tornado more confidence and a shorter trip to Paris to meet ACBB, rather than 8 hours bus drive to Tours. Fans with a good memory may remember that Tornado played ACBB twice in the regular season last year, 2018-2019, beating ACBB 7-6 in the away game, and 8-1 at home, in the last game of the regular season.

As mentioned, it still takes couple of weeks before this regular season ends. Then we will know when, where and against who will play in playoffs. Stay tuned, we have another interesting playoff spring ahead! And we need the support of the fans again!

#BIGGERTOGETHER