It had already become clear two weeks earlier that one would not be without a chance in Waldkraiburg. In the main round, Landsberg won 5-1 with one of the best performances of the season, but the fact that the match this time was practically decided after half an hour came as a surprise.

Reicheneder on pass of Machacek opened the scoring after only four minutes, after that Schwarzfischer (again assisted by Machacek), two times Sturm and Markus Kerber even with one player less were in the scoring list.

Waldkraiburg took his time out after the 5-0 and changed the goalkeeper, the Riverkings brought more young players from then on, but little changed in the direction of the game. Michael Fischer, again Kerber and Adriano Carciola made the final score.

In the previous game the HCL had to acknowledge the superiority of the ERC Sonthofen Bulls. In front of almost 1100 spectators in the Landsberg ice rink, the game against the Oberliga team was surprisingly open until 2:2, but towards the end the mostly faster and more serene guests from the Allgäu prevailed. At the score of 2:5, coach Fabio Carciola took goalkeeper Güßbacher off the ice four minutes before the end in favour of a sixth player - which allowed the Riverkings to score one more goal, but Sonthofen two. The final score of 3:7 was nevertheless a little too high in view of the performance shown.

Goals for Landsberg against Sonthofen: Menge, Reicheneder, Machacek

Goals for Landsberg in Waldkraiburg: Sturm (2), M. Kerber (2), M. Fischer, Schwarzfischer, Reicheneder, A. Carciola

The 3C-Carbon Group AG is the exclusive main sponsor of the HC Landsberg.

The Riverkings had long feared for their place in the intermediate round after a number of successive defeats, but in the final games, coach Fabio Carciola's pre-season rejuvenated squad made another big leap forward. The surprising 4-1 win over leaders Miesbach was followed by a 5-4 victory against Schweinfurt and a superb 5-1 in Waldkraiburg. Peißenberg would have needed a win with at least seven goals difference in the last game in Landsberg to pass the HCL.

However, the hosts did not do the "Eishackler" this favour in the derby. After a 4-0 lead in the meantime, the Landsbergers struggled once again and had to let the ECP come closer until 4-4. But even before extra time, (when a counter-attack by Michi Fischer scored the winning goal 5-4) it was clear that nothing could go wrong with their participation in the intermediate round. The almost 1400 spectators in the Landsberg ice rink not only meant the best attendance of the season so far; the Riverkings also lead the spectator table of the Bayernliga by a clear margin.

In the intermediate round, the six best Bayernliga clubs an the Oberliga clubs in 11th and 12th place play out the pairings for the subsequent play-offs. However, the qualification for this round already ensures now that HC Landsberg will remain in the league in the next season.

The 3C-Carbon Group AG is the exclusive main sponsor of HC Landsberg.

Although the top performers Daniel Menge and Adriano Carciola are now back in the game after a long injury, center forward Markus Kerber will probably be out of the game for 5 to 6 weeks (bone chipping on his thumb). In order to be able to take part in the play-offs, for which it is necessary to reach sixth place, the Riverkings have therefore once again been active on the transfer market.

The 23-year-old striker Petr Machacek from Chomutov was signed from San Sebastian. The left-back had previously played for the Czech U16 to U19 national teams and then played in the 2nd French league for a year. At all stations he stood out with a good eye, strong running technique and above all many scorer points.

"We think that Petr with his move to the goal is exactly the right player in our current situation", says HCL President Frank Kurz, who also explicitly thanked the 3C Carbon Group. "We know exactly what we have in our main sponsor. He has again given us exceptional support in this situation, which is the only way to make this commitment possible. Thank you very much for that!"

The 3C-Carbon Group AG is the exclusive main sponsor of the HC Landsberg

It was a bitter week for Markus Kring. His intervertebral disc problems, which had already appeared in the preparation for the season, broke up again and, after the medical diagnosis, make further assignments in the current season impossible. Since David Blaschta had held up well in the Riverkings' goal so far, but a junior goalkeeper had to be used as a backup, Vice President Gerhard Petrussek and Team Manager Michael Oswald immediately looked for a replacement and found one in Kaufbeuren.

The second goalkeeper there was Michael Güßbacher. Born in Landsberg, Güßbacher went through the junior stages at the ESVK and in Augsburg before gaining experience in the Oberliga in Hanover, Neuwied and Memmingen before moving on to the second highest division in Kaufbeuren - now he is back in his native town. A stroke of luck for Petrussek: "In the Bayernliga, the goalkeeper is extremely important, and with David and Michi we are now very well positioned. Both are strong young goalkeepers and will form a great duo".

An extra thanks went to DEL2 club Kaufbeuren for the changeover arrangements. "We are very grateful to ESV Kaufbeuren and especially to managing director Michael Kreitl that the change could be carried out so uncomplicated. This is by no means a matter of course".

The 3C-Carbon Group AG is the exclusive main sponsor of the HC Landsberg.

For the roller coaster track in Thüringen, the Spaniard once again opted for the hybrid version of the Ducati 1199 Panigale. Based on the 2014 chassis and the 2015 electronics, he had already won in Hungary on the bike. Given the advantages offered by the chassis, team colleague Lorenzo Lanzi went for a complete 2014 version. During qualifying, both riders made it into the Superpole. During the ten-minute session, it was decided that Forés would start the race from the first row and Lanzi from the second.

In the end, only Forés and the current overall leader Markus Reiterberger (BMW) were competing for victory in the two heats. During the first race, both riders challenged each other with tactical tricks virtually the whole time. Forés was in the lead over a greater distance. In the third lap from last, Reiterberger stormed ahead but was immediately pushed back into second place. On the last chicane, both riders were neck and neck. Forés crossed the line to turn into the bend and Reiterberger had to back off. And Forés had the better cards when accelerating away again anyway. With a slim lead of just 0.077 seconds, the defending champion was waved across the finishing line in first place. During the presentation ceremony, Xavi was very emotional and dedicated his triumph to his fellow countrymen and racing colleagues who had been killed in an accident at the Moto America two weeks earlier. "There were three of us on the motorbike today."

Forés took the lead early on in the second heat too. However, the 29-year-old was unable to counter after Reiterberger edged past him half way through and finished second after 18 laps. Lorenzo Lanzi finished third twice over the weekend. The points scored by the Panigale riders at the Schleizer Dreieck allowed Ducati to take the lead in the IDM Superbike Manufacturer's Championship. With 370 points, the Italian manufacturer is now ahead of BMW (266) and Yamaha (184). The next race will take place in Assen, the Netherlands this coming weekend (8/9 August 2015).