It was at the end of the “morning skate” before his match in Frankfurt, and under the onset of rain, that Charles Bertrand gave us his time to talk about his career in Germany. It was, for Hockey Archives, to collect the impressions of the French international, newly arrived in Ingolstadt. In the small Bavarian city, he rose as the team’s second best scorer.
– Tonight you are coming to play in Frankfurt, the promoted and champion of DEL2, how are you going to take the match?
We take this match like all the others, because all the matches are difficult. We want to keep our identity, our game. It will be complicated because there is a good atmosphere here with tense matches. It will be fun to play.
– Ingolstadt is currently 3rd in the championship, with a great team that has scored 10 wins in the last 15 games. Are the objectives revised upwards?
We are not on a notion of objective. We focus on the overall season by having the best possible preparation for each match and preparing our team as best as possible and giving ourselves the best chances for the play-off period.
– For you in particular, you arrived in Germany after a good period in Finland at Tappara. How did your transfer to the Ingolstadt club go and what were the managers’ expectations?
After my three years at Tappara, I was looking for a new challenge while finding pleasure in playing. Ingolstadt came forward and the proposal seemed interesting to me. In the end it’s a good decision because I’m having a lot of fun and I really appreciate the life of the club, the passionate supporters. The city is not very big but it feels good. Everything is going well.
– The team is very experienced with an average age of 28 and you are one of the most capped players. Currently 2nd best scorer in the group, we feel that the danger can come from everywhere on the other hand?
Yes, we have a homogeneous team, it’s part of our strength. We have four lines that can all bring danger offensively. In addition, we can rely on four rigorous defensive blocks. So our group is very competitive.
– Michael Garteig is a very good goalkeeper. But before Germany, he had already put his skates in Finland.
CB: Yes, we met at Tappara during my first season there. I’m really happy to find “Gart’” here.
– To conclude, how do you perceive the differences in play between the Finnish Liiga and the DEL?
It’s a very different game. Here I find that the game is much more physical and hard. On the other hand in Finland, we have a lot of speed and skating. Here, the game is much less closed than in Finland, while there we really insist on defensive rigor.
Hockey Archives wishes you a good season and success with Ingolstadt.
