The polar bears are only one step away from the championship. In the third game of the final series against Mannheim they had to cope with an early loss, but then benefited from their strong defense, which also became dangerous going forward.
- The Eisbären win the third final game against Mannheim
- After just 21 seconds, Captain Wissmann had to leave the ice because of excessive hardness
- Berlin defender Eric Mik sets a record
- The Berliners could make their title defense clear as early as Thursday
In the final of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), the Eisbären Berlin are about to defend their title. On Tuesday evening, the Berliners beat Adler Mannheim away from home 5-1 (1-1, 2-0, 2-0) and extended their lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-0.
With a win on Thursday in the home arena at Ostbahnhof, the Eisbären could celebrate their twelfth DEL championship in the club’s history.
Knockout, power play goal and strong forechecking
How much fire there was in this third game of the final series between the two rivals became apparent on the ice after just 21 seconds. Eisbär Kai Wissmann rushed shoulder-first into the head of Mannheim’s Maximilian Heim, who collapsed to the ground, bleeding and dazed. Because of excessive harshness, the referees then sent Berlin’s captain to the shower after less than a minute. Heim was later able to return to the ice after treatment.
The Eagles drew strength from this early excitement and the resulting power play. Marc Michaelis single-handedly put the disc on his backhand and scored to give the hosts the lead (3rd), who appeared with a completely different body language on Tuesday than in the two previous lost duels.
However, the polar bears did not allow themselves to be dominated. They repeatedly put the opponent under pressure with strong forechecking and thus equalized. Defender Eric Mik was there after winning the puck in the Mannheim third and put the target from the left face-off circle into the left corner.
Polar Bear Defense stands securely – and hits
The second section was a little less spectacular. Both teams now tried to bring control into the game. The game was bubbling along for a bit – until Liam Kirk from the blue line plucked up the courage and simply took off. The puck was deflected twice, most recently by Les Lancaster, from whom the puck flew into the goal to give the Eisbären the lead (25th).
A shock for the Eagles, who increasingly lost their aggressiveness from the first third. Even when they had the majority, their attacks repeatedly fizzled out without any dangerous finishes. However, that was also due to the Berlin team’s strong defensive performance. And they had already proven that the defenders can also be dangerous going forward. A minute before the second break, Mik suddenly appeared completely free again in the high slot and extended the defending champion’s lead to 3-1 with his second goal of the evening.
Mik achieves something historic
In the final third, the Berliners remained hardened, hardly allowed anything to happen and were much closer to finally putting the lid on it than Mannheim to a goal. And that’s how it happened. For the first time in history, a defender scored a hat trick in a DEL final: Erik Mik converted a cross pass from teammate Jonas Müller to make it 4-1 (51st).
A cold shower for Mannheim – and the now almost silent Adler fans in the SAP Arena even had to endure a fifth Berlin goal. After a quick switch, Liam Kirk had plenty of time and space and placed his shot from the right faceoff circle precisely into the left corner (52′). It was the end of another strong performance by the German champions, who will now be hard-pressed to defend their title.
Broadcast: rbb24, April 28, 2026, 9:45 p.m
Audio: rbb24, April 28, 2026, Caroline Labes
