Bitburg Bears skate to first place in Rhineland-Pfalz hockey league Published Jan. 9, 2008 By Senior Master Sgt. Barry Nelson Jr. 52nd Fighter Wing Plans and Programs ZWEIBRUCKEN, Germany -- The Bitburg Bears moved into first place with a record of three wins, one tie and a loss in the Rhineland-Pfalz Termine hockey league Jan. 5, 2007. The Bears defeated teams from Zweibrucken, Mainz and Trier; playing to a tie with Luxembourg and losing a close battle with Ludwigshafen in physical and hard-hitting match-ups. Player-trainer, Brett Poe, 52nd Security Forces Squadron, credits the Bears strong showing to the outstanding play of the Bitburg goalie, Eric Brown, 52nd SFS. He came up with some incredible saves in clutch situations that really made the difference and earned two shut-outs, Poe said. Guido Plein, a German from Bitburg, led the Bears in scoring on the day with three goals. Defensemen Corey Elya, 470th Air Base Squadron, Chris Heinze, 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Tony Laugen, 52nd Logistics Readiness Squadron, broke up several scoring attempts by the opposing teams. While solid fore-checking and goals from Juergen Berens, a German player from Bitburg, Barry Fairbanks, 702nd Munitions Support Squadron, Cliff Otto, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron, assists by Chris Akin of the 52 SFS, sealed the wins. The Bears players are local Germans and American Airmen from Spangdahlem Air Base and its geographically separated units. The Bears will play in the 2008 US Forces in Europe Ice Hockey Championship in Garmisch-Partinkirchen the first week of February, in a bid to recapture the title they won in 2006. The tournament is only open to team members.