The men’s WEMPE EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup semi-final line-up is beginning to take shape with Harvestehuder THC and hdm already assured of places in the medal rounds following day two in Vienna’s Arminen Dome.
For HTHC, they completed Pool A phase with a perfect record and not too much fuss as they saw off the other unbeaten side after day one, Wimbledon, 7-3 in the opening fixture.
It was tight in the first half but a blitz of four goals in Q3 soon put them out of sight with Michael Körper adding a hat trick to his tournament total.
And they confirmed top spot with a 17-2 win against WKS Grunwald Poznan, Fabian Unterkircher leading the way with seven of them.
HAHK Mladost moved into pole position to follow them into the final four after they won twice. They were too strong for Grunwald as they converted a 4-0 half-time lead into a 7-2 overall win.
And then the Croatians won a real firecracker in the evening session 6-5, highlighted by some sublime Anže Fujs work. Mladost went 3-0 up, were pegged back to 3-3 in Q3 but finished strong to move out of range.
In Pool B, hdm dismissed LUC Ronchin 7-0 in their first game while Royal Léopold stormed by the challenge of SV Arminen 6-2. Max Plennevaux was the star turn, scoring four, while Tanguy Zimmer put in a series of classy interventions along with Quentin Walravens who kept his sheet clean until three minutes from the end.
It made for a straight battle between the Dutch and Belgian sides for confirmation of the first semi-final spot in the evening. Plennevaux scored first with a glorious corner move but they Dutch soon raced away, leading 6-1 at half-time and then picking off five more in the second half for an 11-3 win.
Sanse Complutense closed out the evening with a breathtaking performance to defeat SV Arminen 8-2 in which Cesar Curiel put in a classy display. They were 3-0 up after Q1 and went chasing goals in the second half to try and cut their goal difference gap to hdm.
It all means that, on Saturday morning, the final two spots will be confirmed with two direct showdowns on the agenda.
In Pool A, the key match is at 10.15am (CET) with HAHK Mladost meeting Wimbledon for second spot – the Croatian side have the advantage on points but a win for the English would see them through.
Pool B also has a big battle on the horizon with Sanse Complutense meeting Royal Léopold for the remaining final four spot at 11.30am (CET). The Spanish side can even win the group with a nine-goal win while a win for the Belgians send them through.
Either side of those games, there are vital positioning games with sides hoping to avoid fifth place and certain relegation. WKS Grunwald Poznan face Gaziantep Polisgücü at 9am (CET) with the Poles needing a win.
In Pool B, hosts SV Arminen are in fifth and will face LUC Ronchin in fourth at 12.45 (CET) with the winner escaping the immediate drop.
The evening session, meanwhile promises more fireworks. It starts with fifth to eighth place playoffs at 3.45pm (CET) and 5.10pm (CET) from which the winners will ensure safety and the losers’ nation will be relegated for 2025.
Then come the semi-finals at 6.35pm (CET) and 8pm (CET) and the chance to keep the dreams of winning the title alive.
** Watch the action live on www.eurohockeytv.org
** Tournament scores and updates all available here: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/323
