Rostock secured a 5:4 victory over Katowice in a club friendly match on Friday, 29 August, in what proved to be a tightly contested encounter. The hosts held their nerve despite Katowice's persistent pressure throughout the contest.
Rostock arrived in decent form, having bounced back from a 3:4 defeat to Leipzig with a 5:4 win over Herner two days earlier. Their previous four outings had been less kind, yielding just one victory from five matches.
Katowice, meanwhile, had endured a difficult run, losing three of their last five friendlies. A 4:2 win against Unia Oświęcim on 13 August offered a brief respite before they dropped points in successive matches against Poprad HC and Lausitzer Füchse.
And here's the thing — both sides came out swinging from the opening minutes. The match lived up to expectations for a pre-season fixture, with each team trading blows and refusing to surrender ground. By then, the pattern was clear: neither side would let the other dictate the tempo.
The result leaves Rostock on a better trajectory heading into the competitive season, while Katowice will need to address the defensive vulnerabilities that cost them in three of their past five outings. The final margin of one goal reflects the evenness of the contest.