Ex-champion Adler Mannheim also fended off the second match point of Eisbären Berlin in the playoff semi-finals of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) and forced a decisive fifth game. The Kurpfälzer defeated the defending champion 4:3 (1:1, 2:2, 1:0) on Tuesday and equalized the series to 2:2. On Thursday there will be a showdown in Berlin for a place in the final.
“It’s incredibly good. We knew it was a do-or-die game. It’s amazing,” said Mannheim’s match winner Markus Eisenschmid at MagentaSport. Berlin’s Jonas Müller, on the other hand, held his team responsible: “If we don’t make our mistakes, things will look better for us. We make it difficult for ourselves.”
Matthias Plachta (6th), Borna Rendulic (37th) with a converted penalty, Nigel Dawes (39th) and Eisenschmid (53rd) scored for the Eagles. Goals from Zach Boychuk (19th), Kevin Clark (35th) and Kai Wissmann (40th) were not enough for Berlin. For the polar bears it was the second defeat in a row after the 3:5 on Sunday on their own ice.
Who will follow Munich to the final?
The fifth game in the series will now decide who will follow Red Bull Munich to the final. In their semi-final, Bayern had easily eliminated runner-up Grizzlys Wolfsburg and won the series 3-0. Munich, which clinched the decisive third victory on Sunday, will therefore go into the final much more rested.
On Tuesday, a hard-fought, high-quality game got down to business right from the start – Plachta, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist, gave the Eagles an early lead. But Berlin answered before the first third break, in the second round it got turbulent with goals within a few minutes.
In the final section, both teams took less risks – knowing that another goal could weigh heavily. Eisenschmid finally deflected a shot from the blue line, and the Eisbären threw everything forward in the final minutes. They were not rewarded for this, but with a lot of effort and a little bit of luck, the eagles made it to the finish line.