Red Bull Munich missed the final of the Champions Hockey League without its German national ice hockey players.
The three-time German champions lost 3-0 (0-1, 0-0, 0-2) to Finnish record champions Tappara Tampere on Tuesday evening and were eliminated in the semi-finals.
With a brace (5th/54th), Kristian Kuusela destroyed any hopes Bayern Munich had of reaching the second CHL final in the club’s history. In addition, Joona Luoto (52nd) scored for the Finns, who now have to compete in the final on March 1st at Swedish runners-up Rögle BK.
After a weak first third, Bayern got into the game better in the second half and had the first chance to equalise.
But even in the third third, the team of coach Don Jackson, who had to do without five German national players because of the Olympic Games, could no longer pose a decisive threat.
The top performers Danny aus den Birken, Konrad Abeltshauser, Yasin Ehliz, Patrik Hager and Frederik Tiffels were missing: The German Ice Hockey Federation had insisted that the quintet prepare for the Winter Games in Beijing in Mannheim.
The game, which was initially planned as a first and second leg, had to be canceled and rescheduled twice in advance due to corona. The association then decided to determine the second finalist in just one game.