The Adler Mannheim have reached the playoff semi-finals of the German Ice Hockey League. Coach Dallas Eakins’ team defeated the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven 4:3 and won the quarterfinal series 4:1.
After the 6:3 against ERC Ingolstadt, the EHC Red Bull Munich is only missing one success for the round of the best four with a score of 3:2. The Straubing Tigers shortened the series to 2:3 with a 2:1 after extra time against champions Eisbären Berlin.
The Adler Mannheim were behind 0:2 and 2:3 in the 4:3 (0:0, 2:2, 2:1) against Bremerhaven. However, they always had the right answer. National player Leon Gawanke (56th) secured the decision with his goal to make it 4:3 and advance to the next round.
Goal-rich game in Munich
In the first match between Munich and Ingolstadt after the extremely tough fourth game with 155 penalty minutes and the 14-game ban for Munich’s Fabio Wagner, both teams focused significantly more on ice hockey. Both teams played a high-scoring game, especially from the second third onwards. Alberts Smits (46th) and Brady Ferguson (60th) made Munich’s 6-3 victory perfect.
Ingolstadt’s Daniel Pietta confirmed that the players cannot simply forget the events of the previous encounters, including the brutal check from Wagner. “After the series ends, I will say something about it,” announced the 39-year-old veteran at Magentasport. Game six takes place on Saturday (2 p.m./Magentasport) in Ingolstadt.
Straubing shortened
Defending champions Eisbären Berlin missed the early decision in the 1:2 (1:0, 0:1, 0:0, 0:1) in Straubing. Eric Mik (10th) for Berlin and Straubing’s Wade Allison (27th) were successful in regular time. Elis Hede decided the match with his goal in the 68th minute and ensured game six on Saturday (4.30 p.m./Magentasport) in Berlin.
