On the weekend of April 25 and 26, 2026, the Karlsruhe University hockey team participated in the German College Championship in Cologne. The tournament featured mixed teams from various college campuses. The tournament began on Friday with a warm welcome at the German Sport University Cologne.

The preliminary round on Saturday got off to a somewhat rocky start. Our opening match against Hamburg 2 ended in a narrow 1–2 loss. We were still a bit disorganized in the following game as well, but after trailing 0–1, we managed to come back in the second half to defeat Wuppertal 2–1, securing our first victory of the tournament.

After our traveling coach switched up our formation, we really got into the groove starting with the third game of the tournament. Unfortunately, we still suffered a narrow 1–2 loss to Würzburg. In the final preliminary round match, Karlsruhe faced Hamburg 1 and won the game 3–1.

With two wins and two losses, we qualified for the final round on Sunday. To make sure the trip wasn’t just about scoring goals, we wrapped up the evening together with all the teams in downtown Cologne.

Sunday began with a hearty breakfast at the Airbnb to give us the energy we needed for the final round. In the semifinals, we faced the host team and eventual champion, Cologne (@unisporthockeykoeln), and were defeated 1–3 in a fair game. This left us with the chance to win a medal in the third-place game.

In the third-place game, we faced Hamburg 2. After falling behind 2–0 and with the game seemingly all but lost, we managed to salvage a 2–2 tie in the final two minutes with a penalty and a 7-meter shot, sending the game to a penalty shootout. The match was ultimately decided in the shootout, and Hamburg narrowly won with a final score of 6–4. We thus finished the tournament in fourth place.

Despite missing the podium, we were very satisfied with our strong overall performance. The tournament was marked by a fair and spirited atmosphere and once again underscored the quality of college hockey in Germany.