Jeff Likens, Augsburger Panther

This is Jeff Likens' official photo for Augsburg. Brilliant! I wonder how long he was able to hold such a straight face? I'll bet he was cracking up laughing aftewards . . .

As we reported earlier, Likens is playing this season in Germany with Augsburg of the German Elite League (DEL). Also playing with Augsburg is Wisconsin native and former WCHA player Brett Engelhardt (Michigan Tech '00-'04).

The Hallucination was recently in Germany, and she was able to make time to travel to Augsburg for a game. Better yet, she was kind enough to share her experiences and photos with me!



TH attended the 9/26 game v. the Grizzy Adams Wolfsburg. Augsburg won 5-4. Likens had an assist, and Engelhardt had a goal. She indicates that Likens seems to be getting plenty of playing time, including time on the PP and the PK. After 8 games, Likens has 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points.

TH highly recommends that any Badger Hockey fans who find themselves in Germany during hockey season should try to catch a DEL game. She tells me that the atmosphere is fantastic and that the fans are crazy enthusiastic. Sounds like a heck of a lot of fun!

The Augsburg stadium ("stadion") is quite a bit different from a typical ice rink here -- it's open on 3 sides, and over half the "seating" is general admission standing ("stehplatz"). The stadium photo is courtesy of TH.

Jeff Likens, Augsburger Panther

We recently reported that Jeff Likens would be playing in Germany next year, but we didn't have any details. Luckily, puckembucky is on the ball and found Likens on Augsburg's roster. Also playing for Augsburg is Wisconsinite Brett Engelhardt who played 4 years at Michigan Tech.

Photo courtesy of Neil Ament.

A couple of alumni updates: Matt Ford, Jeff Likens

• The Blackhawks organization has declined to sign Matt Ford, but he has a tryout coming up with the Rangers organizations (AHL Hartford Wolf Pack and ECHL Charlotte Checkers). We here at No Alibis No Regrets are disappointed that the Hawks didn't pick him up, as we had been looking forward to watching him play in Rockford (Go Hogs!). On the other hand, we're excited about his upcoming tryout and wish Matt the best. Good luck, Matt!


• Jeff Likens has opted to play this coming season in Germany. We don't yet have any details, but we'll keep you posted if we hear anything further. A number of Badgers have been quite successful in Europe (being who I am, Chris Tancill, Gary Shuchuk, and Barry Richter are the first who come to my mind -- and let's not forget guys like Brian Rafalski who were successful in Europe and then returned to a successful NHL career), and we wish Jeff the same. Good luck, Jeff!