After the 44 game regular season Alba Volán finished sixth which guarantees them a playoff spot. After the international break Alba Volán will be competing the middle part of the season where the top six teams will be competing for the higher seeds in the playoffs.
The regular season the EBEL has a middle season where the top six teams play against each other twice where the teams are competing for a higher seeding. The bottom six teams are competing the final two, spots 7 and 8 in the playoffs.
After the way the season started the management at Alba Volán is very happy with where they are sitting. Head coach Marty Raymond left the club right before the season, he was replaced by Rob Pallin with Tamás Sille becoming the assistant coach, starting goalie Zoltán Hetényi was out with an illness for all season. At the start of the season Volán had at least six players players out with injuries in the opening weeks. This of course meant that young players were getting more ice time but a team can't play with two line for all of the season.
The import players were also great signings for the team, Jeff LoVecchio, Brandon Marino, Kevin Wehrs, Michael Boivin and Johan Ejdepalm joined Frank Banham and Andrew Sarauer to form two solid lines and make Pallin and Sille’s job easier.
“Every year we try to make the playoffs I knew we had a good team coming in despite having a new coach and new imports, but I'm very happy with how things have gone” said Sarauer.
With the playoffs some the players will have a week off to rest but with the middle section of the season, anything can happen since Volán has won against every team in the middle section. “Anything can happen from here on out, we will really have to pay attention in the next games in this middle section” says Bence Szirányi “we really have been working as a team in the last couple games and playing in the system that coach wants”
Photo: Attila Sóos