There were no big surprises in the quarter-finals of the DEL playoffs. Now the semi-finals are coming up, in which EHC Munich is the favorite for the title. In the second semi-final, Ingolstadt meets Adler Mannheim.
EHC Munich against the Grizzlies from Wolfsburg, that’s an evergreen in the playoffs for the German championship in recent years. Last year there was also a duel between the two teams in the semi-finals and ended with a sweep: after three games and the victories, the Munich team were in the final.
Only 48 hours break for the grizzlies
And this time, too, the favorite role is clearly in the hands of Munich, who dominated the main round and Mike Stewart won all four duels against Wolfsburg. “Munich played an unbelievable round and were right at the top. We know what to expect. Of course we were very happy about the win in Straubing – but our focus is fully on the semi-finals“said Mike Stewart, the Grizzly head coach, for whose team there are only 48 hours between the decisive victory against Straubing and the first match against Munich.
Munich’s captain Patrick Hager doesn’t expect a walk against the Grizzlies: “All the teams that are in the semi-finals are still in it for a good reason. It’s going to be a tough battle.” And Konrad Abeltshauser is also expecting a highly motivated opponent. “Wolfsburg won the all-important game in Straubing on Wednesday evening. You will certainly arrive in Munich with bumblebees up your ass.”
There have been four duels between Munich and Wolfsburg in the past nine years, with Munich winning three times and Wolfsburg only once, who are still waiting for their first championship title. 2015 prevailed against Bayernm.
| pairing | game 1 | game 2 | game 3 | game 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Munich – Wolfsburg | 03/31 | 02.04. | 04.04. | 06.04. |
Ingolstadt-Mannheim | 03/31 | 02.04. | 04.04. | 06.04. |
In the second semi-final, the role of favorites is not so clearly distributed. The ERC Ingolstadt, as the runner-up in the main round, takes on the third-placed eagles from Mannheim. The Ingolstadt team’s strong season so far with new coach Mark French has also impressed national coach Harold Kreis.
“Mark played completely different ice hockey than we knew in the DEL. He adjusted his boys very well to his ideas. They play very good ice hockey.”said Kreis before the start of the playoff semi-finals and did not want to make a prediction about the DEL title final sprint: “The championship race is completely open.”
Optimism in Ingolstadt
The Canadian French was voted coach of the year in his first DEL season and could give the ERC the decisive impetus for a semi-final win over the Adler Mannheim. On Friday (March 31, 2023, 7:30 p.m.), Upper Bavaria will start the series of a maximum of seven duels with a home game against the eight-time German champions.
He was “pleasantly” surprised at how successful his premiere season in the DEL was, French told the dpa on Thursday. Ingolstadt striker Mirko Höfflin, who defeated the ERC champions in the final with Mannheim in 2015, was optimistic: “We’re definitely capable of beating Mannheim. We feel comfortable in our role.” A final against EHC Red Bull Munich could follow
The Ingolstadt team also took self-confidence in the series against the Adler, who were successful against Cologne in the quarter-finals, from the knockout round against the Düsseldorfer EG. The ERC made up for a 3:6 in game five and won 7:6 after overtime. The ERC was the semi-finalist earlier than anyone else.
Eagle reminder of 2015 triumph
The Eagles bring back memories of the 2015 final series, when they won the championship after a triumphant run. At that time, the Mannheimers made the seventh German championship title perfect with a 3-1 win over Oberbayern.
This time the Mannheimers are also expecting a tricky task. “Ingolstadt was consistent throughout the season”emphasizes Adler assistant coach Marcel Goc. “They also showed in the playoffs that they are in a very good mood and play good hockey. We have to fight back and play our game.”