DEL final series against Munich
Polar bears punish eagles’ mistakes mercilessly
4/29/2022, 8:16 am
The Eisbären Berlin avert the impending setback in the DEL semifinals against the Adler Mannheim. Last year’s champion is playing against EHC Red Bull Munich for the German ice hockey championship. The final series starts this Friday.
Last year’s champion Eisbären Berlin has stopped the semi-final comeback of the Adler Mannheim and is finally chasing the next German ice hockey title. After two defeats in a row, the Berliners advanced to the final series with a 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) in the fifth decisive duel and ended the Adler’s season. Without a break, the polar bears are challenged again: This Friday (7.30 p.m. at MagentaSport), last year’s champion and main round winner welcomes the rested runner-up EHC Red Bull Munich to the first final game.
Manuel Wiederer (21st minute) and Blaine Byron (46th/60th) scored the Berlin goals. “The squad is really strong mentally. We know what we want,” said Berlin national goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger at MagentaSport. National striker Marcel Noebels said: “We played very well and took our chances.” As in 2018, the final will see ex-coach Don Jackson, who once made the polar bears the dominant club in the DEL. Four years ago, the duel between the two top clubs went to Munich.
This year’s champion can be determined no earlier than May 2nd and no later than May 5th. Unlike before the corona pandemic, the DEL playoff rounds are played in best-of-five instead of best-of-seven mode. Three wins are necessary. The final schedule published at short notice met with criticism from the Berliners.
“Just made one more mistake”
In the semifinals, the polar bears averted a setback from coach Serge Aubin. After two victories and a 2-0 lead in the series, the best team in the preliminary round looked like the certain finalists, but then had to accept the series equalizer. In the decisive game, the Adler played another hard-fought game in front of 10,035 spectators, but did not score a goal. The hoped-for complete turnaround after a 0:2 in a best-of-five series, which only happened twice in the DEL, remained unachieved. “We just made one more mistake,” said Mannheim’s Korbinian Holzer: “That’s bitter then.”
Both teams initially shied away from the risk. Apart from hitting the crossbar, there weren’t any clear chances to score before the first break. But only 43 seconds after the restart, Wiederer gave the hosts the lead. After a counterattack, the attacker used a cross pass from Kevin Clark. Both opponents then created opportunities, but only the hosts scored. Byron extended the lead as he first hit the bar and then sunk the rebound. Shortly before the end, Byron hit the orphaned goal.