The Best Feature Is Missing

The stadium to the left is Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park. Normally, Eintracht Frankfurt plays their football matches here as part of the Bundesliga, but the stadium will be filled with hockey fans this weekend as Germany's DEL gets set to have its sixth outdoor game played in its history. In what seems like a bit of a mismatch, Löwen Frankfurt will host Adler Mannheim this weekend, and outdoor games in Germany's highest hockey league have featured one key feature which makes them unique compared to the North American outdoor games. Except that feature seems to be missing in Frankfurt.

Adler Mannheim head coach Dallas Eakins shared the following video of his club arriving at the rink, and things look pretty standard.

We have arrived. @adlermannheim is ready for practice. #del #delwintergame #wintergame #adlermannheim #pennydel pic.twitter.com/MlSgMG4Rw4

— Dallas Eakins (@dallaseakins) January 3, 2025

One might be inclined to say that the environment looks somewhat more intimate based on having the fans closer to the action, but that's not the feature that is missing. In past years, European leagues that have played outdoor games have used transparent boards like boards seen below in Switzerland, but many leagues across Europe, including the DEL, have used them in outdoor games in the past.

Frankly, this is one of the things that Europe did better than the NHL or AHL, and it's bothersome to see Frankfurt moving away from a feature that gave a new perspective on board battles and scrums in the corners. While advertisements on the boards are vital for the operation of European teams and the promotion of outdoor games like these, losing the one thing that Europe did better than North America seems like a major step in thw wrong direction.

If you want to watch the game, there is a link via OnHockey.tv to catch the action. The game begins at 11am CT, but the broadcast will be, of course, in German. My German isn't anywhere close enough for me to understand the chatter, but the action on the ice should be pretty easy to decipher. With 50,000 fans in a soccer stadium, things will look different than what we see here in North America so I may tune in just to see what this game looks like as it's being played.

If you need a bit of a primer to get into this one, Löwen Frankfurt sits in eleveth-place with an 11-14-2-4 record while Adler Mannheim is the fourth-place team in the DEL with a 17-10-2-2 record. Frankfurt comes into the game having dropped a 3-2 shootout result to Kolner while Mannheim has lost two-straight games that saw first-place EHC Ingolstadt drop a 6-2 loss on them while Kolner also took a 4-1 result from Mannheim. Mannheim sits 12 points back of first-place Ingolstadt while Frankfurt is four points back of a playoff play-in game and 14 points back of a guaranteed playoff spot.

Former Jets and Sharks defender Leon Gawanke and former Penguins forward Tom Kuhnhackl are the recognizable names for the Mannheim Eagles. The Frankfurt Lions could have former Islanders and Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss in the crease, but we'll likely see former Manitoba Moose netminder Jussi Olkinura between the pipes while former UNB Reds forward Cameron Brace leads the team in scoring.

As stated above, I know the importance of advertising for European clubs, but if you have something that's uniquely yours, don't get rid of it. The DEL and all the European leagues should embrace the transparent boards when it comes to playing outdoor games as it made it different than all the other outdoor games we see. Unless there was a safety issue, losing the one thing that set their games apart from the North American games feels like a bad decision.

Of course, I'm also hoping that Adler Mannheim doesn't blow out Löwen Frankfurt as well as there's 16 points between these two teams in the standings. For once, I'd like to see a competitive, high-tempo outdoor game where scoring chances are given priority to defensive schemes, but I'm not getting my hopes up with both teams needing wins tomorrow in their quests for playoff seedings.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 641

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the confines of UMFM's studio where we'll chat some hockey for another hour as the school remains closed for the holiday season. The first show of 2025 is always fun as we break into the new calendar, and the two hosts will certainly get into some business that may ruffle feathers tonight. Of course, you're welcome to join us with your tweets and calls as we open 2025 with some hearty discussion tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight on the program, Teebz and Jason jump directly into why upsets at the World Junior Championship are good for the game and why Canadians better get used to suffering more losses at future tournaments. After that dose of reality, they discuss the Spengler Cup results, the Chicago Blackhawks failing to impress at a Winter Classic once again which should disqualify them from future Winter Classics, how the Jets are the top team to start 2025 and what can be improved, and we look at what the Jets are doing tonight for Ukrainian Heritage Night as traditional Ukrainian Christmas festivities last until January 6! It's a busy show to kick off 2025, so make sure you're settled down by the radio tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason talk upsets, losses, mistakes, disappointments, winners, losers, holidays, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: January 2, 2025: Episode 641

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Welcome To 2025

With the old calendar in the recycling bin as of today, 2025 is officially underway. I've seen lots of "best of 2024" lists and polls, but I'm not really interested in tracking that kind of stuff. If you liked something, that's yours to own and no one can say otherwise. I don't have any Spotify "most played" lists mainly because I don't subscribe, and I don't make resolutions because it gets done if something needs to be done. HBIC isn't undergoing many changes this year as I plan to continue to blog about things that interest me, but it should be noted that this is entry 6357 on this blog. That's a lot of writing, so who knows how long I'll keep adding a daily article in the future.

We're not going to start 2025 off with negatives, though, as there are a pile of things to which I'm looking forward. We'll start with the end of January where the 2025 Female World Sport School Challenge will run from January 30 to Febraury 2. This tournament always has me pumped for the future of women's hockey as we get to see a pile of U SPORTS- and NCAA-bound players before they hit the university circuits. Getting to see this great hockey, working with the amazing people in and around the St. Mary's Academy Flames throughout the tournament, and working alongside great people at the broadcast table has me excited to get back to it in 29 days!

Another event to which I'm looking forward is the annual NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs contest we run on The Hockey Show known as Survivor: NHL Playoffs! Sixteen people will be granted entry to the contest that will open in late April, and those sixteen people will watch their selected teams compete for prizes through the Stanley Cup Playoffs! Wayne is the defending champion after the Florida Panthers won him a pile of prizes in June, but we had fifteen fun, hilarious, and intelligent exit interviews that show how knowledgeable and creative our fans are. Survivor: NHL Playoffs is always a good time!

I haven't quite decided where yet, but there will be a hockey road trip next year as well. I had a pile of fun checking out the OHL in Sudbury and the ECHL in Fort Wayne in 2024, so it might be time to take a trek somewhere in 2025. Of course, the Canadian dollar has nosedived since I got back from my work trip at the end of November, so that may limit the number of places and games I can see. What I do know is that I'll be saving my nickels and dimes where I can because I had way too much fun watching hockey while road tripping.

I will say there will be trip to Brandon at some point, and I plan on not only stopping to see the WHL's Wheat Kings, but I want to see the MFHL edition of the Wheat Kings as well. Brandon's explosion of hockey is something that should be embraced and celebrated, so I'm hoping to get out to the community before the end of the season to catch a few games in southwestern Manitoba. Of couse, I'd love to the University of Brandon with a hockey program again, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards in the foreseeable future.

Beyond these items above, I'm open to suggestions. As you know, The Hockey Show is available to broadcast from your event if you want our presence there, so don't be afraid to ask! If you're holding a hockey tournament or some sort of special game or fundraiser, we'd be happy to help by lending our medium and show to the cause. HBIC will certainly accept invitations to events as well, so feel free to fire me an email for both HBIC and/or The Hockey Show on UMFM. We'll look at every request and see if we can fit into our calendars!

I'm ready for a big 2025 with all sorts of fun and adventure, so let's get this year rolling! Maybe I'll see you during my travels!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!