“Journey Isn’t Over Yet”
Sharks on the last fin in the pre-playoffs
4/3/2022 5:34 p.m
The Kölner Haie have been waiting for the title in the German Ice Hockey League for two decades. This season they are biting into the pre-play-offs at the last moment and are in good spirits after beating Ingolstadt 1-0 in extra time. “The journey is not over yet,” says sports director Uwe Krupp.
On the final day of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), the Kölner Haie secured the final place in the finals. The eight-time German champion, who has been waiting for the next title for 20 years, successfully defended tenth place ahead of the Augsburg Panthers. A 1-0 win after extra time (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0) against ERC Ingolstadt was enough for the Haien to advance to the pre-play-offs.
“It wasn’t a game for the faint of heart,” said Haie head coach Uwe Krupp at MagentaSport: “I’m happy that we can continue playing. The way we present ourselves means the journey isn’t over yet.” Landon Ferraro scored in the second minute of overtime to win the Cologne team, who had already booked their ticket for the pre-play-offs after reaching extra time after a goalless 60 minutes, to loud cheers from their fans.
There they meet the Upper Bavarians again. Cologne has home advantage in the first game on Tuesday, the second game (April 7) of the best-of-three series will also take place in Ingolstadt, as will the possible decider (April 8). In the second match of the pre-play-off round, the Nuremberg Ice Tigers and the Düsseldorfer EG play for a place in the quarter-finals.
The Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven have already arrived there – as sixth in the preliminary round, they secured the last play-off spot after a 4-1 (0-0, 3-1, 1-0) win at the Grizzlys Wolfsburg. This duel will also take place again in the final round (from April 10).
The defending champions Eisbären Berlin (5-1 against Bietigheim Steelers) had been the winners of the preliminary round for some time, Red Bull Munich (5-0 against the Iserlohn Roosters) secured second place ahead of Wolfsburg. The Krefeld Pinguine won their last DEL game for the time being against the Adler Mannheim 3:2 after extra time, but want to sue against relegation.