19:29
Referees Rainer Köttstorfer and Andrew Wilk should ensure order on the ice. Linesperson Maksim Cepik and Kenneth Englisch are helping the two of them.
19:25
Mathias Niederberger, one of the top goalies in the league, starts between the posts on the Berlin side. He is one of the top 3 in terms of gait rate and goal conceding. Kevin Reich should prevent goals from Ingolstadt.
19:23
When the Schanzer were guests in Berlin for the first time this season, they suffered a defeat in mid-October. At that time, the polar bears had the upper hand at 6:3. Ingolstadt got revenge three weeks later in the local Saturn Arena (5:2). The last meeting took place there in mid-January. And the Berliners kidnapped all three points (3:4).
19:17
In the special teams as well as in the face-off rate, Ingolstadt is in the middle of the table, matching the place in the table. At least when it comes to the pass, the polar bears are left a touch behind, and even more clearly in the power play. In the majority, the Berliners only have an efficiency of 17 percent. On the other hand, Serge Aubin’s boys are number 3 in the league in penalty-killing, leaving today’s opponent behind.
19:10
Catching the master on Berlin ice on the wrong foot can be a hope. Presumably, however, the Ingolstadt are not the right ones for this. As the third-weakest away team, the Schanzer really don’t cause fear and terror abroad, they have recently suffered five defeats in a row – the last two in Munich and Düsseldorf without their own goal. The last win on foreign ice came in January in Krefeld (6:1). Only one of the last ten games was won anyway – in mid-March at home against Iserlohn (4:1). If the playoffs are to work, the Upper Bavarians have to get their act together as soon as possible.
19:00
As the DEL’s goal factory, the Eisbären have already scored 172 goals this season – but most of them away from home. The Berliners are still a bit stuck at home from the beginning of the season. Most recently, the capitals scored in three games on their own ice, the last two were won. They lost out in mid-January against Munich (2-3 after extra time) and five days earlier against Nuremberg (3-4). In addition, they have traveled a lot in the recent past – including on Sunday in Düsseldorf (2:3 after a penalty shoot-out).
18:50
Looking at the table, the leader has the ninth guest here. Fittingly, both teams have played 48 games. But there are also teams that have played 46 matches (Augsburg) or 53 (Cologne). So the point coefficient does its work in determining the order – and will probably have to do it at the end of the main round as well. There are now justified doubts that all the games that are still open can be made up for, despite the playoffs being postponed by a week.
18:40
Welcome to the German Ice Hockey League! As part of the 58th match day, the game between Eisbären Berlin and ERC Ingolstadt will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Arena.