“Last matches catastrophic”: no job guarantee for Biel coach Matikainen

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It was a key game for EHC Biel against the SCRJ Lakers on Saturday. There was a lot at stake for the Zeelanders who were competing for a play-in spot. And then they deliver such a disastrous performance, losing 5-0. If goalkeeper Harri Säteri had not miraculously thwarted countless other top chances, Biel would not have been able to avoid a double-digit defeat. “It was desolate from A to Z,” says sports director Martin Steinegger (52) a day after the abrasion.

When looking for reasons for this subterranean performance, he feels helpless: “The last five games have all been catastrophic. I have no explanation for this, previously we were on the right track. Now we are back on field 1.”

Masseur performs, trainer speaks strangely

After the 5-0 defeat, photos also appeared on MySports of Biel’s masseur Karel Malis, accompanied by striker Luca Hischier, who furiously kicked the door in kung fu style in front of the guests’ dressing room. Steinegger about this outburst: “He was extremely frustrated because a player, Hischier, had been injured again this season. But it doesn’t suit him to cause such a stir in the media.”

After the match, coach Petri Matikainen also made a bizarre appearance. He told journalists that despite the tough weekend with two defeats, he had high hopes for the rest of the season, saying: “We experienced something today, but I can’t say what. “Not really.” Even Steinegger cannot definitively decipher these strange statements from his trainer. He speculates: “Maybe it was about the meeting the team had before they left for Rapperswil and that was emotional.”

Matikainen in danger

The EHC Biel is currently raising many questions and is again in crisis mode. Such as in the autumn, when Matikainen also came under fire several times. But with a strong winter and catching up in the rankings, the team and the coach seemed to have found each other. But now the 57-year-old Finn is coming back into the picture, especially because sports director Steinegger is not prepared to write off this season based on current developments: “That would be too cheap.”

When asked whether a coaching change is at all conceivable, Steinegger says: “We are not a club that shoots from the hip, but I cannot answer that question. And I don’t want to go into it in depth, because I don’t decide such things alone.” Matikainen will therefore not be guaranteed a job – and time is running out. EHC Biel has no match until Wednesday and could pull the emergency brake. The final qualifying competition will take place from Thursday with three matches within four days and the tough remaining program against Davos (h), Lugano (h) and Servette (a).

Source : Blick