KO8: KHC Dragons – Waterloo Ducks HC

vs.
1 - 1 (2 - 3 SO)
20 Apr 11:45 CET
Eindhoven, Netherlands

Match highlights

'30John-John DohmenJ. Dohmen

'33Kirk ShimminsK. Shimmins

HT

'37Gauthier BoccardG. Boccard

'53Sebastiaan GeersS. Geers

'56Robbert RubensR. Rubens

'58Maxime van OostM. v. Oost

'58Jeffrey ThysJ. Thys

FT

SOFlorent van AubelF. v. Aubel

SOGauthier BoccardG. Boccard

SOFelix DenayerF. Denayer

SOJohn-John DohmenJ. Dohmen

SORobbert RubensR. Rubens

SOPieter van StraatenP. v. Straaten

SOShane O'DonoghueS. O'Donoghue

SOJohn-John DohmenJ. Dohmen

SOHenri RaesH. Raes

Watch the DRA vs WAT highlights

Match report

Waterloo Ducks won through to the FINAL4 of the EHL for the very first time with their second successive shoot-out win following a 1-1 draw in normal time against their Belgian rivals.

In so doing, they became the sixth different Belgian side to reach the last four of the world’s best club competition.

And captain John-John Dohmen says he will be happy enough for another shoot-out on Sunday when they meet Mannheim in the FINAL4.

“Haha, no, we are really confident in them!” he told the EHL website. “We know Mannheim is really good and it could go that way again and that is not a problem for us.”

The World Cup winner added that his side went through some crisis talks during the week following their shock 4-1 Belgian playoff defeat to Dragons last Sunday and it made the difference when they met this time.

“We did a really good season with Waterloo and then, in the playoffs, we completely messed up our game against Dragons in the first game.

“It was really hard mentally because we didn’t expect that so today we wanted to show something. It was really good today, especially the second half when we should have got 2-0, but it’s like that.

“We did a lot of meetings, talking honestly together. It was important to do it because while we see each other very often, we don’t always have the time to speak honestly. After the bad game, we had to do it and it was really important!”

Normal time ended 1-1 after a share of second half penalty corner goals with Gauthier Boccard giving Waterloo the lead only for Dominic Uher to level with four minutes to go.

There was precious little between the sides in the first half. The golden chance came just before half-time when a Shane O’Donoghue drag-flick hit Maxime Bertrand’s body on the goal line, leading to a penalty stroke.

Felix Denayer, however, was denied by the trailing leg of Vincent Vanasch to keep out the effort from his international team mate.

The second half saw Simon Gougnard open his legs to cause all sorts of problems and the Ducks were making the more threatening moves when Boccard struck.

They also went close to a second but for some crucial saves from Tobias Walter and Robbert Rubens clearing off the line.

Dragons never went away and they did start to win corners of their own down the final stretch and eventually found their path past Vincent Vanasch when Uher ripped in their goal.

It meant a second shoot-out for the day where Waterloo bounced back after conceding in the first round when Florent van Aubel scored and Boccard missed.

They scored from each of their next three while Vanasch continued his remarkable shoot-out run of performances for club and country, saving three times for a 3-2 victory.

And Dohmen says it is a special moment for his club to finally reach the FINAL4 after six previous campaigns ended with only one KO8 run and the others all ending in the KO16.

“Every time you play in the EHL, it’s a great time for the players and the public. The organisation is always perfect and the players are really excited to play the EHL even with the other events, it remains a big moment for hockey.”

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