In the 170th edition of the DEL classic, fists are flying after just two minutes. The eagles then prevail against weakened polar bears.
The Adler Mannheim celebrated a clear success against the Eisbären Berlin on matchday 31 of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). In the end, the Electoral Palatinate team prevailed against the champions with 8:5 (4:1, 3:2, 1:2). It was the third edition of the traditional duel this season. For the third time, the home team was able to prevail.
The Eisbären also had to do without Canadian Ty Ronning for their guest appearance at the SAP Arena. Last season’s top scorer has been out with a knee injury since the end of November. Nevertheless, the guests started with an offensive urge. Less than a minute had passed before the first dangerous scene in front of the Mannheim goal, but Frederik Tiffels was unable to bring the puck into the goal in a controlled manner.
Byron’s goal is disallowed
Less than 60 seconds later the fists were already flying. Mannheim’s Tobias Fohrler and Yannick Veilleux had to go to the penalty box for five minutes each. Then ice hockey was played again, although things were a bit erratic. After almost six minutes, Kris Bennett scored, but Eisbären keeper Jake Hildebrand made a safe save.
Then Berlin established itself in front of the Adler goal for the first time and immediately took the supposed lead. But according to video evidence, the goal was disallowed because Blaine Byron had deliberately kicked the puck into the goal (9th). On the other hand, Jean-Sebastien Dea hit the left post with his backhand (10th). Leo Pföderl missed the lead for Berlin.
Then the Eagles struck – twice. First, Zach Solow poked the puck over the line (13th) after keeper Hildebrand had previously parried against Anthony Greco. Then Maximilian Heim made it 2-0 when he successfully held the stick to a long-range shot (15th). There was no question of shock among the polar bears. Pföderl made the connection in the same minute. The attacker was able to bring the puck from behind the goal through goalkeeper Maximilian Franzreb’s pads. But then the Eagles again: First Bennett restored the old distance (17th), then Nicolas Mattinen scored in the majority (19th; Liam Kirk had received a two-minute penalty).
Game length penalty for Jonas Müller
The second third began just as spectacularly as the first had ended. Mannheim was outnumbered for around a minute after the penalty against Hohrler, but survived. When the Eagles then acted in the majority, they were countered by the champions. Lean Bergmann served Byron with a diagonal pass that beat Franzreb (23′).
Then the Eisbären had a great chance to catch up when they were twice in the majority for 53 seconds. Berlin played it patiently: When Mannheim’s first penalty had expired a second, Kirk hit the near corner with a one-timer (27′). There was no time to take a breath: Mannheim countered, Plachta put the puck into the goal after a blocked shot (30th).
Things got even worse for the Eisbären: a two-minute penalty against Norwin Panocha for holding and a 5-minute + game-time disciplinary penalty against Jonas Müller, who had checked Solow on the back of his head towards the boards. The Eagles didn’t have to wait long and increased their advantage through Greco and Justin Schütz (33rd/34th).
Eagles don’t let anything burn anymore
In the final third, the Berliners showed themselves to be combative and looked for a way forward in order to get close again. But the polar bears let a two-minute advantage pass without scoring.
After 52 minutes, Bennett missed the decision in the Eagles’ favor when he hit the post. Seconds later, new hope arose for the guests when Kirk, with the advantage from the right face-off circle, reduced the score to 4:7 (54′). When Mitch Reinke, also with one more man on the ice, scored to make it 5:7, there was tension in the air again for a moment. In the final minute, the Eisbären took the keeper off the ice, but couldn’t finish. Instead, Alexander Ehl hit the empty Berlin goal 15 seconds before the end to make the final score 8:5.
Adler Mannheim – Eisbären Berlin 8:5 (4:1, 3:2, 1:2)
Goals: 1:0 Solow (12:49), 2:0 home (14:03), 2:1 Pföderl (14:17), 3:1 Bennett (16:14), 4:1 Mattinen (18:28), 4:2 Byron (22:50), 4:3 Kirk (27:55), 5:3 Plachta (29:12), 6:3 Schütz (33:26), 7:3 Greco (33:54), 7:4 Kirk (52:04), 7:5 Reinke (55:31, 8:5 Ehl (59:44)
Penalty minutes: Mannheim 17 – Berlin 20 plus match penalty (Müller)
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Mannheim asks Ingolstadt to play the top game
Because ERC Ingolstadt lost 1:3 against Munich, the Adler are the new league leaders. Both teams continue with home games in the DEL. The Eagles welcome Ingolstadt to the top game on Boxing Day. The polar bears will then host the Grizzlys Wolfsburg. The kickoff of both matches is at 4:30 p.m.
