Neilson leaves Lausitzer

Former Nottingham Panthers coach Corey Neilson has been released from his role in charge at German DEL 2 side Lausitzer Fuchse.

The 44-year-old joined the club in 2018 after leaving a trophy-laden era at Panthers, including an Elite League Grand Slam and a Continental Cup.

A fifth place finish in his first season saw them go out of the play-offs at the quarter final stage, but last season, they escaped the relegation play-offs after finishing in 11th, due to the Covid outbreak.

This season sees them third bottom, with 30 points from their 26 games, however they are only five points from the top eight, although they only picked up one win in their last 10.

Chris Straube ab sofort Cheftrainer – Corey Neilson freigestellt

Alle Infos dazu auf https://t.co/op0ZLkbBFe#DEL2 #EISHOCKEY #WEISSWASSER #SIMPLYSAXONY #LAUSITZERFÜCHSE #HOCKEYTOWN pic.twitter.com/YvM5wOqTsN

— Lausitzer Füchse (@lausitz_fuechse) February 1, 2021

However recent form prompted main shareholder René Reinert and managing director Dirk Rohrbach to make a change.

A joint statement from the two men said: “We hope that the change will give the team new impulses and the associated significant increase in performance. 

“We believe that our team has sold below value in the last few weeks and can play much better ice hockey. 

“But self-confidence and constant development are important for this. If the team manages to exploit its full potential, we can get back on the road to success at short notice and we’ll have to work hard on that from tomorrow.”

Neilson worked with EIHL alumni Mike Hammond, Robert Farmer, Darcy Murphy and Steve Saviano during his time in Germany and will be replaced by his assistant Chris Straube.