Passau defeated Hochstadt Alligators 8:5 in the Oberliga South on Saturday evening. The result came as a surprise to many, including our own forecast, which had given the home side only 48 per cent confidence. Things came to a head quickly enough that the visitors could not settle, even though they had won their opening fixture elsewhere.
Neither side had much to build on beyond that solitary previous game, so the evening was less about tactical refinement and more about who reacted first. Hochstadt had beaten Lindau 7:4 on Wednesday, while Passau's last outing had ended 2:4 against Riesen. By then the pattern was already shifting on the ice, with the hosts finding rhythm where the visitors seemed to lose it.
Passau took control and held on grimly through a scatter of chances. The visitors fought back but could not turn it on when it mattered most, and the old head of the home bench seemed to settle them down through experience. One mistake ends it in this division, and Hochstadt made their binding when they needed to be sharper.
The standings remain flat for now — both clubs sit with zero points after one match each — so this evening is more about momentum than position. Hochstadt remain second on paper, Passau eleventh, but the gap means little until there are more games in the book. The support of the fans could be called devoted, but that is an assessment, not a fact. The fact is that the club sits top of the table
