Sandro Schönberger would actually play ice hockey in the Oberliga between the years against SC Riessersee, Tigers Bayreuth and Stuttgarter EC. But the Tölzer Löwen attacker misses the games, which is “a bitter loss, especially in the game-intensive time,” said Löwen managing director Fabian Schlager. Schönberger is missing the games in the Oberliga Süd not because of an injury or a suspension, but because he is competing in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world: the Spengler Cup. The Straubing Tigers will be guests there for the first time in the more than 100-year history of the tournament in Davos, Switzerland, and as is tradition there, the Lower Bavarians will also be competing with guest players. They loan Zachery Leslie and Eric Uba from Mannheim, and the third player on loan is Schönberger. The Tölzer Löwen did not cause any problems with the guest appearance permit. “After everything Sandro has achieved and experienced in Straubing, this is of course a crowning achievement,” emphasized Schlager.
This completes the circle for the 37-year-old. He wore the Tigers jersey for more than 15 years before ending his DEL career after last season for family reasons. Schönberger is Straubing’s record player with more than 700 games and “was significantly involved in the development of the Tigers,” praised Straubing’s manager Jason Dunham. Participation in the Spengler Cup is “a thank you for our captain”. Schönberger describes it as an “incredible opportunity” to be able to appear in Davos. As a guest player, he joins an illustrious group; big names in world ice hockey such as Slawa Bykow and Andrei Chomutow or Patrick Kane and Martin St. Louis also appeared in this role in Davos. “I think there is hardly anything more important in club ice hockey than being able to play in the Spengler Cup,” emphasized Schönberger. For Tigers defender Marcel Brandt, participating in the Spengler Cup can be compared “in terms of importance” with his participation in the 2022 Olympics.
German Spengler Cup participation is rare; the Nürnberg Ice Tigers were last guests in Davos in 2018. The last German victory was 25 years ago, in 1999 the Kölner Haie won the tournament. The Spengler Cup is considered the oldest ice hockey tournament in the world; since 1923, with a few exceptions, it has traditionally been held between Christmas and New Year. The reputation of the Davos tournament is so great that it is even broadcast live on television in North America.
The tournament will even be broadcast live on television in North America
Stephan Daschner can easily describe how special the atmosphere is in the Swiss climatic health resort. As a 20-year-old, he played in the Spengler Cup with ERC Ingolstadt in 2008, and now the defender can enjoy this again as a 36-year-old with the Tigers. Everyone is caught up in the “Spengler Cup fever,” he told him Danube Courier. The tournament also enjoys cult status because the players are not only accompanied by numerous fans, but also by their families. Two buses with players and families arrived from Straubing. It’s “crazy what the Swiss are doing as hosts,” said Daschner. If you think about “how many teams, families, children and fans are coming and what is being taken care of – it’s crazy.” The Tigers will play at least three games until New Year’s Day, two of them against the tournament’s record winners: host Davos and Team Canada.
As nice as the guest appearance in the Davos Hall, which has been nicknamed the “cathedral” due to its special architecture and impressive wooden roof construction, is for Lower Bavaria, it makes an already particularly intense season even more strenuous. In addition to league play in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), the Tigers have also played eight games in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) in recent months. Since they had to postpone some DEL games due to their participation in the Spengler Cup, eleven league games await them after their return from Davos from January 5th to 31st alone. With the playoffs, the Straubingers could play up to 89 competitive games at the end of the season come.
For Sandro Schönberger it will continue again on January 3rd, instead of HC Davos and Team Canada it will be back to everyday life in the upper league with the game against Höchstadter EC.
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