Release from 17.10.2024

Graz with best season start in club history | Manuel Ganahl: “We're having fun working hard”

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The Moser Medical Graz99ers have made the best start to the season in their club's history in the win2day ICE Hockey League. With 19 points from eight games, they currently are the league leaders. In the 2009/10 season, the Styrians finished the Regular Season in first place for the only time so far. In 2018/19, they were also top of the table after the first phase of the Regular Season, but slipped back to second place in the placement round. In 2009/10, they had 16 points after eight games and Manuel Ganahl, who returned to Graz this summer, was part of the team for the first time. In the interview, Ganahl looks back on the 2009/10 season. The 34-year-old also gives an insight into the current team chemistry, talks about his satisfaction with the successful start to the season and the areas in which the team can still improve. Finally, the experienced forward takes a look ahead to the upcoming clash against Bolzano on Friday.

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19 points from eight games this season is the extremely successful interim result of league leaders Moser Medical Graz99ers. The Styrians have never had more points after eight games. In the 2009/10 season, the 99ers got off to a similarly good start to the campaign. With 77 points, they were crowned winners of the Regular Season for the only time to date, but this was followed with a prompt quarter-final exit in the Playoffs. Manuel Ganahl was part of the 99ers' professional team for the first time back then and has many great memories of that time: “We had an incredible team back then. Everything worked in the Regular Season, we felt like we won almost all the games and had a lot of fun. There are so many good memories of that year, but it's better not to talk about the outcome. It was brutal that we didn't make it through at least one round of the playoffs.”

“Still have a lot of room for improvement”
The Moser Medical Graz99ers are aiming for a better final result in the current season. With 19 points, they are currently top of the table, but there is still a long way to go until the end of the Regular Season, as Manuel Ganahl is well aware. Although he is optimistic about the successful start, he emphasizes that it is too early to take it easy: “It's not the right time to look at the table at the moment. It was important that we had a good start, that gives us a lot of confidence, but we know that there have been a lot of close games and that we still have a lot of room for improvement. We're not satisfied with a lot of things yet, we still need to improve, but that's normal at this stage of the season, it's a process we're currently going through.”

“We enjoy working hard”
The 99ers' strong start to the season comes as a surprise to many. Almost the entire team was replaced in the summer, with Manuel Ganahl also returning to his old team in the offseason. The forward puts the fact that the upheaval in the summer was handled so well down to the team's hard work: “We worked extremely hard in August. We are a great group, have lots of great characters and a good mix of experience and young energy. We enjoy working hard and pushing each other.” Despite the positive start, there is still room for improvement according to the Vorarlberg native, especially in defense: “We still give up big chances very easily, especially in the defensive zone, where we still lack coordination.”

“These are the games you look forward to the most”
Graz's next opponent on Friday is HCB Südtirol Alperia. The “Foxes” are in second place in the table with 18 points, just one point behind Graz. This makes it an absolute top clash match. Manuel Ganahl is looking forward to the home game and expects an intense duel: “We're expecting a very tough game. Anyone who knows Bolzano knows that they are always a very unpleasant opponent who are tactically very disciplined and don't concede many chances.” Nevertheless, he believes the Graz99ers are well prepared and is looking forward to the challenge: “I think it will be a very tough battle and a game of patience. But that's what we've been training for. These are the games you look forward to the most, where you can see where you really stand.”

The game between the Moser Medical Graz99ers and HCB Südtirol Alperia is available in the livestream on live.ice.hockey on Friday at 19:30.