Master Red Bull Munich, the Eisbären Berlin, the Adler Mannheim and the Nürnberg Ice Tigers have reached the DEL semi-finals. Munich had more trouble than expected.
After making it to the semi-finals, it was time for a breather at Red Bull Munich. The way to the third consecutive title is steep for the German ice hockey champion, as the quarter-final series against the blatant outsider Fischtown Penguins from Bremerhaven showed: “That was intense, no doubt,” said Munich coach Don Jackson after the decisive 4:1 (1:0, 1:0, 2:1) on Friday evening.
With 4:1 his team, the main round winner and house high favourite, has also won this play-off series and was already after the fifth game in the semi-finals. Just like the semi-final opponents Adler Mannheim and the Eisbären Berlin, who will meet the Ice Tigers Nürnberg.
Defending champions Munich could rely on their Olympic heroes. Frank Mauer, the goalscorer in the Pyeongchang semi-final against Canada, scored six times in the quarter-finals. Dominik Kahun, who is said to be about to join the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL, scored six goals. Defender Yannic Seidenberg also shone.
You have to acknowledge that,” said striker Jason Jaffray, “Bremerhaven has made a tight game out of every game. After a home defeat at the start, the champions usually only convinced over a third in the following duels.
The strength from the main round was seldom shown in Munich, the series success came rather from the longer breath: Thanks to the deep squad, Jackson’s team usually defeated their aggressive opponent in the final third: “The Bremerhaven team play extremely hard forechecking, but that costs strength,” said captain Michael Wolf.
Like 2016 and 2017, the final series now beckons, while the opponent of the past two years has been out of the race since Friday. Vice champion Grizzlys Wolfsburg failed due to the title co-favorite Berlin. The team from the capital won the nerve-racking last duel 7:6 (1:2, 3:1, 2:3, 1:0) after extra time, in the series it was 4:1 in the end.
Twice on Friday Berlin gave away a lead, “it was a tough fight,” said coach Uwe Krupp: “Wolfsburg has character. Outstanding in the series: silver hero Marcel Noebels with four goals and a plus-minus-balance of +8.
In the Grizzlys, the quarter-final elimination marked the end of Pavel Gross’s era of success. The 49-year-old has been head coach in Wolfsburg since 2010, moving to Mannheim for the new season. And his future club can continue to hope for the first championship title since 2015. The Adler beat the ERC Ingolstadt 4:3 (2:0, 2:2, 0:1) and also won their quarter-final series 4:1 – with a strong goalkeeper Dennis Endras.
As the fourth team, Nuremberg secured the last place in the semi-finals on Sunday. The Franconians won 5:1 (1:0, 3:1, 1:0) against the Cologne sharks and won the best-of-seven series after the sixth game with 4:2. Thus, the top of the main round Munich gets to deal with the weakest participant, Mannheim, and retains home rights for the first game. The first game of the other match will take place at the second-place finish in Berlin.