After the 1: 3 in the first semi-final duel, the Adler Mannheim are challenged in the home game on Friday evening in the home game against the Eisbären Berlin.
It was rather relaxed on Thursday with the closing training of the eagles in the Mannheim arena. Regeneration was announced: “We moved a bit our legs, stimulated the circulation”attacker Tom Kühnhackl described the scenery in the large hall before the first semi-final home game (Friday, 7:00 p.m.) against Berlin in conversation with SWR Sport.
Kühnhackl? Tom Kühnhackl? In fact, the young man bears a famous name on his Mannheim jersey. Tom Kühnhackl’s father Erich was considered the best ice hockey striker in Germany in the 1970s and 80s, a legend like Franz Beckenbauer or Gerd Müller in football. Erich Kühnhackl was the Olympic bronze medalist, multiple German champion, goal scorer and top scorer of the Bundesliga at the time.
Tom and Erich Kühnhackl at the awarding of the Bavarian Sports Prize
The Kühnhackls – one Ice hockey family
But son Tom, 33 and under contract since 2023 in Mannheim, is in no way after his successful father Erich, now 74, in no way: Kühnhackl -Junior, a strong and camp -tried striker, is not as dangerous as Kühnhackl -Senior, who – tall and with a gun -like hair – was plowed in the jersey of the EV Landshut and the Cologne Haie through the defense series and caused fear and terror among the defenders.
For this, Tom Kühnhackl is one of the best defensive strikers in German ice hockey, is a fixture in the national team and in 2016 and 2017 it was twice winner of the renowned Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the North American professional league NHL. The world’s most important club trophy.
The first game among the polar bears lost the eagles 1: 3
Master honor in the DEL but Tom Kühnhackl are still missing in his title collection. What is not can still be. Maybe this season? The fact is that the Mannheim eagles are currently in the playoff semi-final against the polar bears from Berlin.
And even if the Kurpfälzer lost the first game in the capital, Kühnhackl is open to Kühnhackl before the home game on Friday evening in the SAP Arena: “The first game was very close”Tom Kühnhackl sums up in conversation with SWR Sport The 1: 3 from Tuesday evening,, “It could have been in both directions. mistakes decided the game. You just can’t give Berlin anything, they are very talented. Therefore we have to park out mistakes as well as possible.”
Tom Kühnhackl: “Berlin has individual class”
Not as easy against a top team as the reigning champion from the capital, at the same time with ten titles also the DEL record champion: “They have individual class”confirms Tom Kühnhackl, “We just have to keep against it as much as possible.”
In the first duel in Berlin, the Mannheimers had tactically mature and disciplined the defending champion of the defending champion in chess for a long time before Liam Kirk and top scorer Ty Ronning shot the polar bears with two goals. Only shortly before the end of the game, Captain Marc Michaelis managed the connection goal before Frederik Tiffels pushed the puck to the empty eagle housing for the 3-1 final score. Keeper Arno Tiefensee had left his housing for a sixth field player.
Arno Tiefensee and the curious Leadership In game one
Arno Tiefensee was also the much -discussed protagonist in this first encounter: The highly talented young goalkeeper of the Kurpfälzer crawled over the ice in front of the Berliner in Berlin, simply could not be put on his feet and in action. The dissolution of the curious scene: “At Arno the buckle of the rail opened”it was officially said from the Mannheimer to the end of the game. As a result, the knee pad apparently slipped under the leg splint, so the movement, the otherwise strong 22-year-old keeper could not get up, could not prevent the hit.
So the first victory went to Berlin. Tom Kühnhackl, however, with a lavish playoff fulfillment compared to SWR Sport, is still optimistic before the first semi-finals in Mannheim: “We want to make reparation for last season.” A year ago, the eagles had already left in the quarter -finals against the later master Berlin. Now the giant duel of the two DEL heavyweights takes place in the semi-finals: “If we continue playing like this, we have a good chance that we will win games against the polar bears.”
Four victories are needed for the eagles in the best-of-Seven series to move into the final against Ingolstadt or Cologne. In any case, the anticipation for the game on Friday evening in the Mannheim ice hockey mood stamp is also huge at Tom Kühnhackl: “For this you play playoffs that you can play in front of a home backdrop”says the man with the famous ice hockey name, “We were very good at home all year round. Of course, that helps when you have the fans in your back.”
Even if the task against the polar bears from Berlin appears almost insoluble at first glance, the title was not necessarily given as a season goal for the newly formed Mannheim team: German champion with the eagles that Tom Kühnhackl would like that. Then he would have pulled the same with Papa Erich.
