Top favorite Red Bull Munich impressively extends its lead in the DEL final. The challenger ERC Ingolstadt is already under pressure in the fight for the German ice hockey championship.
Mark French wanted to get over the severe setback as quickly as possible. “It doesn’t matter whether you lose by one goal or seven. It’s a defeat,” said the coach of ERC Ingolstadt after his team’s 7-1 defeat in the second final of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) against industry leader Red Bull Munich: “But we must forget quickly.”
His players would be well advised to do so. Because after two defeats from two games, the Ingolstadt team already have their backs to the wall before the third game on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. / MagentaSport). “You only learn by making mistakes, but you can’t make those mistakes twice,” warned French.
In any case, on Sunday there were enough examples of how best not to do it. While the Schanzer showed a very strong performance in the final third at the start last Friday, they seemed unfocused and overwhelmed again and again in the second game against the winner of the main round from Munich.
According to EHC defender Konrad Abeltshauser, the initial phase was “wild” for the Ingolstadt team, after the successful lightning start by Maurice Edwards, the collapse followed within about 100 seconds.
In 2014, Ingolstadt became DEL champion after two defeats
“The emotions overwhelmed us in the first third,” analyzed French. Munich was 4-1 within the first ten minutes – and was then satisfied.
“We didn’t let ourselves be disturbed and simply downplayed our boots,” said Yasin Ehliz, who was strong again. At the same time, the DEL player of the year was alarmed before returning to Munich: “Ingolstadt has a great team. They will shake it off and attack again on Tuesday.”
In general, the Munich team made an effort not to fall into too much euphoria. “We’re going one step at a time,” emphasized Abeltshauser. The signs are still good, especially since Ingolstadt has additional worries after the heaviest home defeat in a play-off final series.
After the injury of regular keeper Michael Garteig, Kevin Reich, who had been extremely strong in the play-offs against Munich, had to leave after fifteen minutes, according to French for health reasons. Whether the former EHC goalie can return in game three remains to be seen.
And yet: A look into the past should continue to provide optimism in Ingolstadt. In the 2014 final series, the Panthers were also 2-0 down after two games against the Kölner Haie – but later stormed to their first championship.