Champion Eisbären Berlin has saved itself in its twelfth final in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
In the fifth and decisive play-off semi-final against his predecessor Adler Mannheim, the DEL record champion prevailed 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) after his last playful 2-0 lead and decided the Best-of-five series with 3: 2 for themselves.
In the finals, the winner of the main round meets Red Bull Munich. For the team of Eisbären coach Serge Aubin, the hunt for the ninth DEL triumph begins on Friday (7:30 p.m. / MagentaSport), again with home advantage in the arena at Ostbahnhof.
Munich had won the semi-final against the Grizzlies Wolfsburg 3-0 last Sunday and have been able to regenerate since then.
Blaine Byron scores twice for Eisbären Berlin
As in the previous season, Mannheim was the final stop in the semi-finals. Two days after forcing the decider, the Eagles were unable to crown their comeback with an eleventh appearance in the final.
Berlin’s goals by ex-national player Manuel Wiederer (21st) and Blaine Byron (46th, 60th) and coach Bill Stewart’s team had nothing to oppose.
Krefeld penguins finally dismounted
While the most important decision of the season has yet to be played out in the finals, the die was finally cast in the table cellar on Thursday.
Contrary to its original announcements, Krefeld Pinguine, bottom of the main round, refrained from filing a complaint with the arbitral tribunal despite its concerns about the effects of the corona pandemic on the season.
Accordingly, the ex-champion, who sees himself disadvantaged by the cancellation of some encounters due to the high number of infections among the opponents affected, will compete in the lower-class DEL2 in the coming season.