The Eisbären lose in the 84th minute: In the second overtime, the defending champions have to admit defeat to the self-sacrificing Mannheimers. This leads to a fifth game.
- Eisbären Berlin lost 3:4 to Adler Mannheim in the second overtime
- After three previous wins, this is Berlin’s first defeat in the final series
- The series goes into game five
The Polar Bears Berlin have to postpone their championship celebration. The defending champions of the German Ice Hockey League lost to Adler Mannheim on Thursday in front of their home crowd 3:4 (0:0, 2:1, 1:2, 0:0, 0:1) in front of their home crowd and suffered a defeat for the first time in the current best-of-seven series.
Mannheim’s Luke Esposito scored the decisive goal in the fourth minute of the second overtime.
After a total of four final games, the Berliners now lead with 3-1 wins. The fifth game takes place on Sunday (4:30 p.m.) in Mannheim.
Balanced first third
In the first minute, Eisbären attacker Ty Ronning raced single-handedly towards the Mannheim goal, but was denied by Johan Mattsson, who made a strong save.
After this huge chance, both teams put on a toxic performance. In the fourth minute, Berlin’s Jonas Müller received his first time penalty, four minutes later Mannheim’s Lukas Kälble had to go to the penalty box. After eleven minutes, Eisbären defender Adam Smith and John Gilmore clashed after the Mannheim player was pushed away during his attack.
In this phase, the Berliners were unable to build on their weightless offensive game from previous games, which was just to the taste of the guests. And so it was the first third of the final series in which the Eagles held the Eisbären to zero goals.
Intense second third
After two minutes in the second third, a power play gave Berlin the lead: the home team moved the puck to the left side, where Les Lancaster shot well from eight meters and let the puck rush into the net (23rd minute). It was the defender’s sixth goal in the playoffs and a redeeming lead for his team.
And the Berliners followed up ice-cold: Through effective forechecking, Markus Vikingstad captured the puck in the neutral zone and quickly initiated a counterattack, which Liam Kirk coolly converted to make it 2-0 (28th).
But the Eagles had the right answer. As if out of nowhere, Nicolas Mattinen fired a long-range shot through the crowd of defenders, which found its target in Berlin’s net to make it 1-2 from Mannheim’s perspective (35th).
High tension in the capital
The game was open again and hard fought in the final third. In the 45th minute, the puck bounced off Jonas Müller’s own stick and into Jonas Müller’s face. Blood ran from his mouth onto the ice, the defender immediately left the field and disappeared into the catacombs. But a short time later the all-clear was given: the defender – with a thick lip – took a seat on the bench to loud cheers in the arena at Ostbahnhof.
From there he watched as his team made the supposed preliminary decision: On the right side, Lancaster passed to Jean-Sebastien Dea, who passed the puck directly on to Vikingstad via a drop pass – and he coolly chipped it into the corner to make it 3-1 (47th).
Of all people, a Berliner unintentionally made the game exciting again: Markus Niemeläinen earned a four-minute penalty for an unsportsmanlike hit in the face. The guests exerted pressure in the majority, first hitting the crossbar and a short time later they were able to reduce the score to 2:3 with a goal from Zach Solow (53′). Shortly before the end of the game, the Eagles were actually able to equalize: Alexander Ehl pushed the disc over the line in the crowd to make it 3-3 (57th). The game went into overtime.
Decision in the second overtime
In the third minute of the first extra time, Eder was close to the season’s decision, had a clear view of the goal on the half-right side and finished powerfully – but Mattsson saved with his leg guard. Shortly before the end of the first overtime, Manuel Wiederer even missed the post. The Berliners were unable to convert their superiority into the winning goal.
In the second overtime, Esposito from Mannheim managed to postpone the Berlin championship party with his goal in the fourth minute – the Eisbären lost 3:4.
Broadcast: rbb|24, April 30, 2026, 11:45 p.m
Audio: rbb|24, April 30, 2026, Karsten Steinmetz
