The Eisbären Berlin are German champions again. The runner-up in the preliminary round of the German Ice Hockey League secured their tenth championship title early on Friday with a 2-0 win in Bremerhaven.
The Eisbären Berlin used the first match puck – and are German ice hockey champions for the 2023/24 season. The capital club won game five of the final series against the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven on Friday evening with a score of 2-0 (0-0, 0-0, 2-0). As a result, the Berliners secured their decisive fourth victory in the best-of-seven series. It was 0-0 for a long time before Leo Pföderl (44th minute) and Manuel Wiederer (49th) secured the tenth title in the German Ice Hockey League in the final third.
Eisbären Berlin secured match point for the championship against Fischtown Pinguins
The Eisbären Berlin are about to win their tenth German championship. They won their fourth final game against the Fischtown Pinguins 4-1 on Tuesday and are now leading 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.more
Two masterful goalies
“The fourth win is always the most difficult,” Eisbären coach Serge Aubin said before the game. What sounded like a trite phrase was confirmed at the beginning on the Bremerhaven ice. The Fischtown Penguins put pressure on them.
The Eisbären scored the first goal in all four games of the final series. Now – knowing that they had to win – it was the home team who took the risk early on. Eisbären goalie Jake Hildebrand was the focus early on with several dangerous shots. The guests from Berlin only rarely managed to relieve the pressure: for example in the fourth minute, when Ty Ronning rushed into the opponent’s third, but Zach Boychuk narrowly missed his cross pass.
In the middle of the first third, the Berliners dared to be more offensive. It went up and down at high speed. Moments to breathe? Completely non-existent. It was top ice hockey worthy of the final, which would have led to goals if Hildebrand in particular – supported by a Berlin defense bulwark – and his goalie counterpart Kristers Gudlevskis hadn’t acted masterfully. The Latvian in goal for the Fischtown Pinguins shone in the 19th minute when he saved strongly from Eisbären striker Frederik Tiffels. “The switch from defense to offense was incredibly quick. As expected, Bremerhaven came out very strong. (…) Jake is there to make the big saves,” said Eisbären sports director Stéphane Richers during the third break on “Magenta Sport” .
Highlight after highlight – but no goal
The spectacle continued unabated. Highlight followed highlight – so densely that each individual (almost) got lost in the crowd. The open exchange of blows is all too often used as a phrase, but for this game it was the perfect description. The desire to score the first goal was noticeably great on both teams. The shooting statistics were slightly in favor of the hosts (10:7 after 15 minutes in the second period), but on the ice there was an exciting eye level. The posts, crossbars and the goalkeepers ensured that the score remained 0-0.
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Be it Hildebrand’s double save against Jake Virtanen (30th). Or perhaps the Eisbären’s best opportunity in the great opportunities festival – although a ranking was almost impossible: Ty Ronning, the three-goal scorer from game four, failed in front of Gudlevskis on his schooner (37th).
“Both teams play very, very good defense. A goal can make the difference,” said Eisbären professional Lean Bergmann shortly afterwards during the second period break: “Both goalies have been playing outstandingly the entire series.” It’s incredibly fun. You can notice that your legs are getting heavy in this intense game, “but I think I got another boost of energy in the last few finals. There’s definitely a lot of adrenaline there,” said Bergmann.
Pföderl hit paves the way to the title
The final third continued with energy and adrenaline. Always in Bergmann’s knowledge: In this close game, one goal can decide the championship. And the Eisbären scored this goal. After 44 minutes, the 30-year-old shot from the right face-off point. The puck hit the top left corner hard – and it was the seemingly invincible Gudlevskis who didn’t look good. The goal meant the fifth 1-0 for Berlin in the fifth final game.
The tour gave the Berliners noticeably (even more) self-confidence. The Berlin fans celebrated in the Bremerhaven ice arena and the capital club stormed. Only five minutes after the first goal, the Eisbären followed up: Manuel Wiederer poked the puck over the line (49th). The referees checked the goal in detail before deciding in the end: no interference from Gudlevskis, a regular goal. There were more chances on both sides, but it was the deciding factor. A good ten minutes later, the Berliners celebrated their tenth German championship.
Aubin: “I’m proud, really proud of the team”
“It was a tough fight. Some of the boys are bleeding, but everything is good,” said successful coach Serge Aubin at “Magenta Sport” – and: “I’m proud, really proud of the team. We all know that last season was difficult But this year my boys came back from day one, they wanted to show who we really are.”
Kai Wissmann, who already won his third title with the club, said: “It’s an incredible feeling of happiness. In every series the teams demanded a lot from us,” said the Eisbären captain. And above all, he also found words of praise for the defeated Fischtown Pinguins: “Great respect to Bremerhaven. The atmosphere here is crazy. They now deserve to celebrate the runner-up. It was a final series at a very high level. We are very happy, never gave up and always fought. And now it’s time to celebrate.”
The game in the live ticker
Broadcast: rbb24, April 26, 2024, 10 p.m