Life in the Champions Hockey League is going well for newcomers Pinguins Bremerhaven who currently sit atop Group A coming into October.
The German club has taken three out of four contests and during those three wins, it was veteran CHL netminder Brandon Maxwell who helped lift his team to victory on two occasions, paving the way for a potential Playoff qualification once play resumes for the team next month.
But getting to where he is was a challenge in itself, as the journeyman goalie experienced a bit of a rocky start.
Maxwell saw his first CHL action with Czech club HC Pardubice in 2015/16 but only suited up for two games before his team suffered an early exit; a fate that would follow them again in 2016/17.
In 2018/19, the netminder competed in his third CHL campaign with Mountfield HK but again fell short of making it past the Group Stage in the pan-European competition.
"We take a lot of pride in playing for Bremerhaven and representing our team properly in the CHL."Brandon Maxwell
Fast-forward to this season and Maxwell and co are where they want to be after finding success early and riding that momentum to a 3-1 record.
“It’s good to be in a position where the games matter. You do something to go further, and you take it step-by-step. Everybody watches this tournament as it goes on through the year. Teams, players all get exposure if you’re playing well in this and you know it’s good for the players, good for the team and the organization. It’s good to be able to be in a position to control our fate.”
Considering their current position, if there were any expectations for the German side they’ve certainly exceeded them. As for Maxwell, well, he’s pretty satisfied with his club’s accomplishments so far.
“I don’t know if we really expected anything, we just took it one game at a time. We were proud of being a part of the CHL and we wanted to do well, and we take a lot of pride in playing for Bremerhaven and representing our team properly in the CHL.”
The 30-year-old recognises that representing your team in the CHL means, “you have to play 60 minutes against any team in the CHL, and you have to be disciplined because every team will make you pay because they’re the best teams in Europe in the best competition and you have to be ready.”
Looking ahead, Bremerhaven will have to be ready for some new challengers in Sparta Prague. Fortunately, the Canadian netminder is already familiar with the club stemming from his time in the Czech league.
“Sparta are a top team in Czech. They play really hard and they’ve got a lot of good players.” Because of this, Maxwell expects that, “it’ll be a tight game.”
With the exception of their loss to the Växjö Lakers, every game has been tight for Bremerhaven. Nevertheless, their commitment to their system and top-notch defensive play, evidenced especially by their penalty kill, has solidified the German side as a top competitor.
“In the CHL we were really good defensively; we were sacrificing our bodies to get in front of shots and we have a lot of fast forwards and they can put pressure on the other team’s defence and get some scoring chances while we’re on the penalty kill. We just stick to our system and make use of our forwards on the kill.”
"Sparta are very similar to the teams we’ve played already: a highly skilled, fast team with good defence."Brandon Maxwell
Finding out that Bremerhaven would be competing in this year’s CHL was a thrilling moment for the players. According to Maxwell: “Last year in the DEL finals we were watching hoping Berlin won so we could get a spot and everyone was pretty excited to get into the CHL and see what we could do.”
But that feeling, the netminder notes, wouldn’t be nearly as emphatic if it weren’t for the fans, who were finally able to return to the arena to kick off the campaign.
Initially, he admits, he was, "kind of nervous" to be back playing with a crowd. But went on to say, "It was so brutal last year to have no fans there; last year was like glorified hobby hockey. It was so brutal and I know nobody wants to do that again."
"We’re just focused on winning, one game at a time"Brandon Maxwell on maintaining Bremerhaven's success going forward.
For Maxwell, the fans bring something unequivocally special to the atmosphere of the game: "they remind you how happy the game can make you because without the fans it’s nothing. So it’s great to start the season with the fans in the CHL and then roll into our season with that."
With hopes of continuing their CHL campaign for a few months more, Bremerhaven's current run has already treated their fans to a memorable debut. As the next batch of games approaches, we're excited to see if they can continue their excellent play when the puck drops in a couple of weeks.