Record champions vs. league leaders and a duel of HBL’s two top scorers

Saturday, 14 February

• Marian Michalczik’s buzzer-beater secured a 30:29 away victory at HC Erlangen, giving new TSV Hannover-Burgdorf head coach Juan Carlos Pastor a winning start. “Recken” are now unbeaten in five matches and sit ninth with 20:20 points.
• HSG Wetzlar, by contrast, were outclassed 27:41 by champions Füchse Berlin in their first match of the year. With 7:33 points, the Central Hessians remain second from bottom. New coach Rúnar Sigtryggsson has one win from three games.
• August Pedersen leads the Recken scoring charts with 120 goals, 13 strikes more than Wetzlar’s top scorer Philipp Ahouansou.
• Hannover won the reverse fixture in Wetzlar convincingly, 38:28, and also claimed both duels in the 2024/25 season. Overall, however, Wetzlar lead the head-to-head 16:13.

• MT Melsungen claimed a close 29:26 win at promoted Bergischer HC on Wednesday, with goalkeeper Kristóf Palasics the match-winner thanks to 15 saves. The North Hessians are now unbeaten in four and sit seventh with 24:16 points.
• FRISCH AUF! Göppingen let a home win slip in a 28:28 draw with GWD Minden but at least ended a run of five straight defeats. The Swabians are currently 11th with 16:24 points.
• With five goals against Minden, Marcel Schiller surpassed the 100-goal mark for the season and now has 101. Florian Drosten is Melsungen’s top scorer with 83.
• The reverse fixture ended 26:26. Prior to that, Melsungen had won six in a row; overall they lead the head-to-head 23:15.

• Philipp Vorlicek earned GWD Minden a 28:28 draw at Göppingen with a last-second free throw. It was their second consecutive draw after a 26:26 against Hannover before the European Championship break. With 11:29 points, GWD sit 16th, four points clear of the first relegation place.
• Rhein-Neckar Löwen experienced the opposite in their opener: they led THW Kiel for 50 minutes before conceding a last-gasp 29:30 defeat. It was their first loss after two wins to end the previous year. Maik Machulla’s side are eighth with 22:18 points.
• Jannik Kohlbacher has netted 117 times as the Löwen’s leading scorer, while Florian Kranzmann tops Minden’s charts with 78 goals.
• Around 20 years ago, Minden last beat the Baden side – then known as SG Kronau/Östringen – on 2 April 2006 (28:27). Since then, in 28 duels there have been 27 Löwen wins and one draw. The reverse fixture ended 28:24.

Sunday, 15 February

• After a poor start, TBV Lemgo kept things tight for long spells in the top match at leaders SC Magdeburg but lost 32:36. The defeat saw Florian Kehrmann’s side (30:10 points) drop to fifth, level on points with THW Kiel.
• HC Erlangen will rue missing out on at least a point in their 29:30 defeat to Hannover. They are winless in three and sit 11th with 14:26 points.
• Lemgo’s Dutchman Niels Versteijnen moved to 118 goals for the season, eighth in the HBL scoring charts. Erlangen’s top scorer is Viggó Kristjánsson with 101.
• The 25:24 win in the reverse fixture was Lemgo’s third straight victory over Erlangen. Overall, the record stands at 11:5 in TBV’s favour.

• Hamburg also lost the return fixture against bottom side SC DHfK Leipzig on Tuesday and have now suffered four consecutive defeats. They are 10th with 17:25 points.
• SG Flensburg-Handewitt likewise dropped crucial points in the title race, losing 26:33 at VfL Gummersbach – their first defeat after four straight wins. With 31:9 points, they now trail leaders Magdeburg by seven.
• Of Flensburg’s 703 league goals, 358 – more than half – have been scored by Emil Jakobsen (123), Marko Grgic (118) and Simon Pytlick (117). Hamburg’s Danish duo Nicolaj Jørgensen (115) and Frederik Bo Andersen (110) have combined for 225 goals.
• The 32:32 draw on 22 December 2024 was Hamburg’s only point against Flensburg since 2014. Either side of that, the SG won ten matches, including the reverse fixture (33:29). In 35 HBL matches, Flensburg have won 19 and Hamburg 11.

   

  Füchse Berlin vs TVB Stuttgart (16:30 CET, live on Dyn and world-wide on HBL TV)
• Füchse Berlin started the year with an emphatic 41:27 win at Wetzlar. Having played one match more than their rivals, the capital club are now second with 32:10 points, eight behind Magdeburg.
• TVB Stuttgart also enjoyed a positive start to 2025, beating ThSV Eisenach 33:31 after four straight defeats. They are 13th with 13:27 points, six clear of the relegation zone.
• World Player of the Year and European Championship MVP Mathias Gidsel needs six more goals to reach 200 strikes for the season. With 194, the Dane leads the HBL scoring charts – and he faces second-placed Kai Häfner (150) in Sunday’s head-to-head.
• Füchse have won the last five duels against TVB, including the reverse fixture (36:30). Stuttgart’s last victory in May 2023 ended Berlin’s title hopes. In 21 matches, Berlin have 17 wins, with Stuttgart claiming two wins and two draws.

• THW Kiel secured a fortunate 31:30 win at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen on Thursday, thanks to Eric Johansson’s last-second goal. Kiel are fourth with 30:10 points, eight behind Magdeburg.
• SC Magdeburg opened the year with a 36:32 victory over TBV Lemgo Lippe and remain unbeaten, leading the table with 38:2 points. They boast the league’s best defence and second-best attack.
• Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu is Kiel’s top scorer with 138 goals, all from open play. Omar Ingi Magnusson is third in the HBL rankings with 146, one place ahead of his Faroese teammate.
• Sergey Hernandez (Magdeburg) tops the goalkeeper ranking with 210 saves, while Andreas Wolff (Kiel) is third with 194.
• The reverse fixture ended 26:26. Kiel won both meetings last season, following two Magdeburg victories. Overall, Kiel have 39 wins to Magdeburg’s 21.

Monday, 16 February

• A 31:33 defeat in Stuttgart was Eisenach’s third straight loss. With 13:27 points, Sebastian Hinze’s side are currently 14th.
• Two places and three points behind are Bergischer HC, following an unfortunate 26:29 home defeat to Melsungen.
• The teams’ leading scorers are Noah Beyer (111 goals) for BHC and Switzerland’s Felix Aellen (97) for Eisenach.
• The 27:26 win in the reverse fixture on 11 December was BHC’s most recent league victory. The overall head-to-head is finely balanced at 6:5 in favour of the “Bergischen Löwen”.