DEL top favorite EHC Red Bull Munich and Düsseldorfer EG have fought back in the DEL playoffs in the quarter-final series.
Munich, first in the main round, showed an impressive reaction to the disappointing playoff start and outclassed the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven 7:1 (3:0, 2:0, 2:1).
The EHC surprisingly lost the first two games of the best-of-seven series, in which four wins are necessary to progress. In the third duel, coach Don Jackson’s team, who had made some personnel changes, dominated from the start.
“We needed that now. We knew that today it’s about everything. The game was just world class from us,” said striker Filip Varejcka, who scored one goal and two assists, on “MagentaSport” and especially praised the veteran coach Jackson (66): “We had an incredible speech. The coaches came up with a good idea.”
The game was already decided in the first third, in which Munich made a lot of steam. “The first third was the toughest thing I’ve ever played,” said Varejcka. In addition, the big favorite for the title also consistently played out its strength, the majority game. Attacker Trevor Parkes, who made it 2-0 (13th minute), scored his 104th goal for the EHC. The Canadian drew level with former national team captain Michael Wolf. On Wednesday (7 p.m.) the fourth game of the series will take place again in Bremerhaven.
Cologne Sharks win in Mannheim
For the second DEL top team Mannheim, on the other hand, there was another setback at home against the Kölner Haie at 2:3 (0:0, 1:2, 1:0) after extra time. It was only in the second overtime that David McIntyre (87 ‘) made the decision in the exciting and intense traditional duel. The Adler are now under pressure on Tuesday in Cologne (7:30 p.m.). In the event of another defeat, the co-favourites for the title could already be out on Friday.
On the other hand, there is hope again for the Düsseldorfer EG, who thanks to an increase in performance after a weak start with 2:1 (0:1, 0:0, 1:0) after extra time won the first win in their series at ERC Ingolstadt.
National player Alexander Ehl scored the winning goal in the 17th minute of overtime. In regular time, Düsseldorf’s Stephen MacAulay (56th) equalized the early Ingolstadt lead by captain Fabio Wagner (6th) late with a double majority. Previously, DEG had made a strangely bloodless appearance and had been disappointed for a long time. But now she can balance the series on Tuesday (7 p.m.).
In addition, the Grizzlies Wolfsburg won 2:1 (1:1, 1:0, 0:0) at the Straubing Tigers and thus also took the lead in the series with 2:1 after victories. The fourth duel will take place on Wednesday (7:30 p.m./all MagentaSport) in Wolfsburg.