A last minute return and departure with the Black Wings

Tomorrow’s home game of the Steinbach Black Wings (Friday, 7.15 p.m.) against last year’s finalists in the second German ice hockey league, EC Bad Nauheim, represents an emotional return to the old place of work for a deserving former employee of Linz. Wolfgang Janout was almost 20 years old long as a kit man the good soul in the catacombs of the Linz-AG-Eisarena and has experienced all the ups and downs since joining the Bundesliga. Shortly before Christmas 2020, they parted ways. “Wolferl” was hired in the German spa town of Bad Nauheim and since then has been grinding the runners of the DEL2 runner-up from the city of 32,000 inhabitants north of Frankfurt. With Jordan Hickmott, there is also an ex-Black Wings player (ten games in 2018) in the squad.

The Hessians have completed a training camp in Ferlach in the past few days and defeated Villacher SV 4:3 after overtime in a friendly. For Janout, the game in Linz will be “an ice hockey match like any other. I’m happy to see my sister and brother-in-law again, who will be there, but I’m just too old for really big feelings.”

“Otherwise I would be in a wheelchair by the age of 60”

One comes, another goes. Bus driver Robert Rammerstorfer (in the service of Busreisen Lehner) has to leave the Black Wings after 15 years. Because the man from Mühlviertel cannot sit ergonomically in the Linzer double-decker bus due to his height and has been struggling with back problems since the previous season, he will be piloting the one-story blue-and-white bus in future. The trip to Game 7 in the pre-season will have been the last with Lebler and Co for the time being. Herniated disc immediately afterwards included. “It hurts a bit to say goodbye. My heart hurts. But in the end my family doctor recommended that I no longer drive the two-story bus all the time, otherwise I would probably be in a wheelchair by the time I was 60. And that’s where my health goes before.” According to “Roberto” it cannot be ruled out that one or the other trip with the Black Wings will not be added.

Shawn St-Amant, Graham Knott and Emilio Romig will be given a break in the Wings tomorrow. Steel Wings players Mikael Saha, Kilian Rappold and Manuel Feldbaumer step in. The players in the second line of attack took the time today instead of tomorrow’s game to go on the ice with the Steel Wings U11s. Rasmus Tirronen in goal will also get a breather tomorrow, Thomas Höneckl will start in goal.