The Eisbären Berlin will play against the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven for the DEL championship title from Wednesday. Questions and answers before the showdown of the best main round teams.
What is the initial sporting situation?
The Eisbären Berlin won their best-of-seven series in the semifinals against the Straubing Tigers 4-1. “It’s been a long way to get here. We’ve been able to use the last few days to recharge our batteries – but now it’s time to get started,” says Eisbären coach Serge Aubin before the first final game of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) in conversation with rbb. “We are ready!”
The Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven also moved into the final series after five duels – and eliminated the reigning German champions EHC Munich in the semi-finals. In the all-important round there will also be a showdown between the two best teams in the main round.
The polar bears have been warned before the first duel on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) in Bremerhaven. The Pinguins won the last direct meeting on the final matchday of the main round 2-1 – and thus secured first place in the table as well as home advantage in the upcoming final series. In fact, Bremerhaven won three of the four games of the season against the Eisbären.
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What historical dimension does the series have? And who is favorite?
The times when Bremerhaven was a welcome guest in Berlin as a point provider are long gone. “Bremerhaven plays very quickly. They have very talented players and are good at the power play,” says Ty Ronning, who shot the Eisbären Berlin into the final with his 3-2 winning goal in extra time of the fifth semi-final against Straubing. “For us it will also be important to concede as few penalties as possible and stay away from the box. We have to play intensely and enjoy it.”
Over the past three years, the Fischtown Pinguins have continuously matured into a top team. In particular, Bremerhaven’s first line of attack around their Slovenian captain Jan Urbas is considered one of the best in the DEL. The polar bears have correspondingly great respect for their opponents.
Choreo of the Eisbären fans: The dream of the tenth championship title in the club’s history is alive.
However, there is no clear favorite in the upcoming series. Little things are likely to make the difference, minimizing errors is once again very important. Serge Aubin emphasizes: “I expect this final series to be very close and balanced in every respect. Bremerhaven has a very disciplined team, they implement their moves at a high pace and mercilessly exploit the opponent’s mistakes,” is the assessment Polar bear trainers.
After the messed up pre-season 2022/23 and the historic failure to make the playoffs, the Berliners are looking for compensation: after the successes in 2021 and 2022, the third championship title within the last four years is due. It would be the tenth in the Eisbären’s club history, with a total of 13 finals appearances. The Berliners are also DEL record champions.
The Fischtown Pinguins, on the other hand, are in the final of the German championship for the first time ever.
Are there still tickets?
The euphoria in Bremerhaven is therefore huge: the two games in the ice arena, which the Pinguins will definitely play, were completely sold out within just 25 minutes.
But the arena at Ostbahnhof will also be full – as befits its status: It can be assumed that no seat will be unoccupied when the Eisbären play at least the second and fourth duel of this series in front of their home crowd.
But there is also hope on the Berlin club’s homepage – addressed to all those who made a last-minute decision, it says: “For the playoff final home game[e] There will probably still be remaining tickets from the quota.”
Broadcast: rbb24, April 15, 2024, 9:45 p.m