Defending champion Red Bull Munich needed a furious final third, the main round second polar bear Berlin dominated from the beginning: The favourites took the lead in the play-off quarter-finals of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) with home wins.
Munich won 5:2 (0:1, 1:1, 4:0) in the third game against the outsider Fischtown Penguins Bremerhaven and leads 2:1 in the best-of-seven series as well as the Berliners. In the 8:1 (3:0, 2:0, 3:1) against vice champion Grizzlys Wolfsburg, the team of former national coach Uwe Krupp had significantly less problems than Munich.
The Cologne sharks, on the other hand, scored their second win away again: The eight-time champion won 4:2 (1:1, 1:1, 2:0) against the Nuremberg Ice Tigers. The ERC Ingolstadt returned 4:3 (1:0, 0:1, 2:2, 1:0) after extra time against Adler Mannheim and shortened to 1:2.
Pyeongchang-heroes Frank Mauer and Patrick Hager were the Red Bulls’ match winners with two goals each: “So far we haven’t managed to get our game on ice for 60 minutes. We got off with a black eye,” Hager said self-critically.
Christopher Rumble (14th) and Mike Hoeffel (31st) were surprisingly behind. Mauer (33rd) and found clear words after the second third at Telekom Sport: “We simply don’t play well enough and are always one step too late. We’re not focused enough.”
Three Olympic heroes equalled the score: After preparatory work by Yannic Seidenberg and Dominik Kahun, Hager scored 2-2 (42nd). It lasted until the 48th hour. minutes before Mauer took the hosts into the lead for the first time. Hager (53.) and Jonathan Matsumoto (57.) increased to 5:2.
In Berlin, Jens Baxmann (7th), James Sheppard (11th) and Daniel Richmond (14th) decided the game practically in the first third. Silver medallist Marcel Noebels (30th) and former international Andre Rankel (34th) increased to 5:0. In the final section Conor Allen met for Wolfsburg (44th) and Rihards Bukarts (45th), again Sheppard (49th) and Nicholas Petersen (57th) for Berlin.
After just 22 seconds, Philippe Dupuis took the lead in Nuremberg. Blair Jones balanced for the sharks (19th). Sebastian Uvira (29) also gave the Cologne team a suitable answer to Steven Reinprecht (26)’s 2:1. Jones (45th) and Philip Gogulla (60th) secured the third away win in the third game of the series.
For a long time the game in Ingolstadt was dominated by the strong national goalkeepers Timo Pielmeier and Dennis Endras. Tim Stapleton overcame Endras to lead the ERC (14th). Andrew Desjardins left no chance on the other side after a clever cross pass from Daniel Sparre Pielmeier (23rd).
In the third round it went back and forth: Ville Koistinen (47th) and Thomas Greilinger (51st) scored for the hosts, Marcel Goc (50th) and Spare (53rd) equalled each other. The decision was taken by Michael Collins (73) after Brett Olson from Ingolstadt received a match penalty after a head-butt (68).