From fear of relegation to title party
The mighty resurrection of the polar bear “brothers”
April 27, 2024, 9:09 a.m
Last year the fear of relegation, this season the title party: The Eisbären Berlin are back on the DEL throne. Coach Serge Aubin and his players know the reasons and want to enjoy the results. For some, the season is likely to continue – with the World Cup.
Leo Pföderl clearly enjoyed the master cigar. “There is no better feeling,” said the national striker from German ice hockey champions Eisbären Berlin. The 30-year-old played a major role in the capital club’s tenth title. With three goals and eight assists in the final series, he was named the best player. “I would love to celebrate for a whole week now,” he said. The master party at the local arena at Ostbahnhof is planned for May 1st.
Pföderl has become champion with the Eisbären for the third time after 2021 and 2022. But he was also there last year, when the Eisbären were in danger of relegation and clearly missed the playoffs. Almost twelve months later, the crowning moment came with a 2-0 win in the fifth final game against the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven. “We are a close-knit bunch,” said the striker. “We have grown very, very together this season.”
Coach Serge Aubin sensed early on that a title contender had quickly been found again. Instead of replacing the coach after a disappointing round as usual, the Eisbären stuck with the former professional. “It didn’t take long and it became clear that this is a very special team,” explained the Canadian. “Like brothers, like in a family with different characters. We are back and we deserve this title.”
Heading to the World Cup with a championship title
National defender Jonas Müller also sees the lessons of the past season as an important point for winning the tenth championship. “We all know that it wasn’t a good year for us,” explained the Berliner. “But we also knew that we had a good team again. We felt from the start that we could fight our way back this season.”
It wasn’t a walk in the park for the Berliners in any playoff round. In the quarter-finals, they were beaten 7-1 by Adler Mannheim in game one. There was also a 2:4 defeat in Bremerhaven at the start of the final. After the second final game, national player Marcel Noebels was also unavailable. “But we didn’t get nervous,” said captain Kai Wissmann and emphasized: “That’s also part of the quality. We can just carry on playing calmly.”
Coach Aubin played a big part in this. “We analyzed really well and drew our conclusions from games like that,” said Pföderl. In the last three finals against Bremerhaven, Berlin’s outstanding keeper Jake Hildebrand only conceded two goals. “From my experience, the defense wins the title,” said Wissmann. “We always have the quality to score a goal ourselves.”
The season is most likely not over for the defender. The World Cup in the Czech Republic is coming up. The Berlin defensive duo with Müller and the Eisbären captain are actually included in national coach Harold Kreis’s national team squad. “I don’t know what the plan is,” Wissmann said. Müller, on the other hand, is a little more offensive. “I want to be there,” said the 2023 runner-up. “But now I want to celebrate and enjoy first. That’s part of a championship. After that, I’ll concentrate on the World Cup,” said the 28-year-old.