The Eisbären Berlin are only one win away from the semi-finals of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). On Tuesday evening, the defending champions won 5-1 (2-1, 2-0, 1-0) at the Kölner Haien and are now leading 2-0 in the best-of-five quarter-final series.
Jonas Müller scored two goals, Leonhard Pföderl, Dominik Bokk and Matt White also scored for the capital city, who deserved the clear success with a concentrated performance.
In front of 14,642 spectators in the Cologne Arena, the polar bears got off to a flying start: after 33 seconds, Pföderl scored in the first power play. The Berliners then dominated the game, but David McIntyre used one of the few chances the hosts had to equalize. In what was now a hectic encounter, both teams incurred a number of time penalties before Müller put the capital city team back in front just before the first break.
After the guests had survived a phase of pressure from Cologne at the beginning of the second third, they were able to extend their lead with goals from Bokk and White.
In the final section, Müller scored his second goal early on, after which the Berliners remained alert and brought the clear success sovereign over time.
