On Saturday, the Kölner Haie and the Adler Mannheim meet in the DEL Winter Game in the Cologne football stadium. While Haie Managing Director Philipp Walter’s anticipation and excitement mix, Captain Moritz Müller feels like he’s been transported back to his childhood.
Moritz Müller is about to take a journey back to his childhood. Because on Saturday (03.12.2022) at 4.30 p.m. the Kölner Haie and the Adler Mannheim meet in the DEL Winter Game. And the open-air game will be played in Cologne’s football stadium. “You really only know this outdoor ice hockey game from childhood, when you played on a frozen pond.”said Müller, captain of the Haie and the German national team, in the WDR interview.
“In addition, the extraordinary backdrop of more than 40,000 spectators, you don’t get that very often, and that makes the whole thing a special game.”he said full of anticipation.
Fifth Winter Game of the DEL
It will be the fifth edition of the Winter Games, which were originally introduced at the initiative of the sponsor of the Nuremberg Ice Tigers based on the model of the NHL Winter Classic. In 2013 the premiere took place in the Nuremberg football stadium. Since then, a regular DEL game has been moved to a football stadium every two years. However, due to the corona pandemic, no Winter Game took place in 2021.
Müller remembers the Winter Games “for the rest of his life”.
For Müller it will already be the third Winter Game. He was already there in Düsseldorf in 2019 and 2015. The Haie lost both games against the Düsseldorfer EG. “Those were two games that you will remember for the rest of your life. Of course, the painful memory of both defeats against Düsseldorf remains.”he explained.
After 2019, the game is now taking place in Cologne for the second time. Philipp Walter, Managing Director of Kölner Haie, was already involved in the implementation back then. “It’s a lot of work”emphasized Walter in the WDR interview. “There is a lot of anticipation and excitement mixed with great concentration in the implementation. The planning has been going on for months.”
The sharks have applied to the league to host the Winter Games. This is then done in close coordination with the league and also with the possible opponent. “We are all very well connected in the league. We showed in 2019 that we can do it”according to Walter.
For the 48-year-old, Cologne is an ideal location for the Winter Game: “First and foremost, it’s the enthusiasm of the ice hockey fans in the city and region, the strong emotional connection to the Kölner Haie. In addition, the RheinEnergie Stadium is wonderfully suitable – due to its size, the steep grandstands and the outstanding atmosphere.”
Winter Game economically “significant”
The Winter Game is economical for the sharks “significant, but also associated with great effort and costs”said Walter. “That’s embedded in our overall budget and has to be planned seriously. You don’t just stamp it out of the ground. The good income from viewers is also offset by high costs.”
This year, the sharks will or will have to make these efforts three times. Because in addition to the Winter Game, the KEC also plays the games against the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven (December 22, 2022, 7:30 p.m.) and the Augsburg Panthers (January 8, 2023, 4:30 p.m.) in the stadium.
“We made a virtue out of necessity”Walter gave an insight. “We have a very special situation in Cologne in terms of the location with our arena. A lot of events have been postponed due to the pandemic years.”
All of these – plus the current ones – would now be made up for in the 2022/23 season. “That presented us with a lot of scheduling problems”said Walter and added: “The football World Cup in Qatar played into our hands so that we could play two more games in the stadium.”
Müller draws a positive sporting interim conclusion
With the Mannheim eagles, a heavy chunk is coming towards Cologne. “An absolute top team, also a favorite for the championship”underlined Captain Müller.
The Haie are currently sixth in the league. Müller was satisfied with the performance so far this season: “We dropped a few points at the beginning of the season because we took too many penalties. We’ve been able to fix that lately, which makes me positive. We also played very good hockey against very good teams. We actually play in every game to win.”
The Haie have played against the Adler once this season and lost 3-1. Müller expects on Saturday “A game on an equal footing with two really strong teams that will compete. We’re looking forward to it, but above all to the Winter Game.”
