Following Vaxjo's 4–2 win over Ingolstadt on Thursday, the Lakers' Patrik Lundh and Ingolstadt's Brandon Buck answered some questions on the game and the CHL experience so far.
by Pontus Bjers
VAXJO – After recording 6 points in his team's opening game against the Braehead Clan, Patrik Lundh was held pointless in the team's second game, a 4–2 win over ERC Ingolstadt. Still, he's tied for the CHL scoring lead with Chris Baltisberger of the ZSC Lions. Vaxjo are off to a good start in Group O with two home wins. Now they have two games left against the same two teams on the road.
Patrik, what do you say about tonight’s game?
PL: “I think that for most of it we kept high pressure on them. They had some pretty fast counter-attacks where they tried to get a long pass from the defencemen to their forwards and they got through a few times so we tried to tighten up as soon as we saw that they did that. The first period wasn’t very good from us, we didn’t get the intensity we would like but during the rest of the game we might have got some more energy from the goals and the second and third periods I think were good.”
Now that you’ve played two games in the CHL, does it feel like your game is settling in?
PL: “I think so. Of course, it takes a while and with some new players as well. And maybe the on-ice physique isn’t at the top yet, your legs get tired a bit faster than during the regular season but I think we’ve practised well the last few weeks and we are getting into the type of game that we want to play. We’re on the right track, definitely.”
You’ve now played a British team and a German team. What’s it like playing two such different opponents in the same tournament?
PL: “I think it’s fun. You get to know the teams in the SHL very well during the regular season. It’s a bit different to play a British team and a German team like today where the game was faster and a bit more physical, but it’s fun to play various opponents so that you don’t just play against the same teams all the time.”
Two wins after two games, are you looking forward to the playoffs already or are you focused on the last games in the group stage?
PL: “No, we have two games left where we play Braehead and Ingolstadt again so we start with saturday’s game. We never look ahead of ourselves too early, we want to focus on the next game.”
You have two games abroad coming up. How does it feel to travel with your team to those games?
PL: “It’s perfect, it’s good get together and usually it’s a bit different when you get away like that. We can get to know each other even better. We’ve had some team building activities and at home in the arena you meet everybody, talk and eat lunch but then you go home. When you’re away it’s great to have some time off at the hotel or talk even more in the dressing room. There’s only positives from traveling with the team.”
Brandon Buck figured in on both of Ingolstadt's goals on Thursday with a goal and an assist. However, his team lost and sit second place in Group O with 3 points. Like Vaxjo, they have two remaining games against the other teams in their group, and a win in Braehead next weekend would see them through to the next round.
Brandon, what are your thoughts on tonight’s game?
BB: “Overall it was a pretty good effort by our team. I think we made a few mistakes kind of early, we had a few times where we fell asleep defensively and gave them a little too much space but for the most part we played pretty well. We wanted to make sure that we were in their face the whole game and not let them have a whole lot of setups behind their net and in the offensive zone close quicker and take away their space and time and I think we did a pretty good job at that.”
You scored a goal tonight. What do you say about your and your line’s effort?
BB: “I think we’ve been playing well for the majority of the pre-season. I played with Petr (Taticek) the entire year last year and we have a ton of chemistry and now adding Johnny (John Laliberte) to our line, I think that tonight we played pretty well. We created a lot of offence and that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
How do you find the experience to play against a British team and a Swedish team, two different types of hockey?
BB: “It’s two completely different types of hockey and that’s the tough part of the CHL. You play a team like Braehead that’s physical and they’re more of a crash and bang kind of team and then you play a team like Vaxjo, who love to have the puck and make plays. It’s an adjustment for sure but I think our team is pretty good skating team, especially in the DEL, and it’s a great challenge for us to play good teams like this.”
What’s it like to travel abroad with your teammates to play?
BB: “It’s fabulous, this is my second year in the CHL and it’s really cool to play against different teams from different leagues and we see cities that we’re not used to. Although, most of us here within our team have families it’s nice to get away early in the season and be with your teammates and learn a little bit more about the new guys. I think, overall, it’s really fun to experience for all of us.”