German Ice Hockey League | Playoffs – Three reasons why the Eisbären Berlin reached the semi-finals
IMAGO / Contrast
Audio: rbb24 Inforadio | March 27, 2024 | Guido Ringel | Image: IMAGO / Contrast
After the big disappointment last year and the slap in the first quarter-final game, the Eisbären Berlin have continuously improved against Adler Mannheim. Reaching the semi-finals is the reward you deserve. Three reasons for Berlin’s resurgence.
1) The polar bears are hungry for success again
The fire is back, the greed for success is back: In the previous season, the Eisbären Berlin missed the playoffs as the reigning German champions, for the first time in 22 years. The disappointment was great – and yet the capitalists sent an example early on by announcing immediately after missing the playoffs that they would stick with head coach Serge Aubin.
The Canadian repaid the trust, his team finished the main round of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) in second place and sparked new euphoria among the city’s ice hockey fans.
When asked why the Eisbären will be champions again this season, managing director Thomas Bothstede answered in an interview with rbb shortly before the start of the playoffs: “Because we have the best fans in the league and every home game is a cauldron and very important for the opponents will be difficult. Because in my opinion we have the best team. And because in my opinion we also have the best coach,” said Bothstede. “And because there is a euphoria around us this year that I have never experienced in Berlin. Especially after last year, we are very excited and are so excited about the playoffs. You can tell that in the dressing room too. And that’s why we become champions.”
“If you mock our fans like that, you should expect a reaction”
And in fact, the quarter-final series against seven-time champions Adler Mannheim, who have had a great rivalry with the record champions (nine titles) since the 1990s, got down to business right from the start. The Mannheimers gave the Berliners a 7-1 defeat in the opening duel, but since then the Eisbären have left no doubt as to who would move into the final four. The hunger for success is back, the intensity on the ice is great.
But the Eisbären had the last word – both in the second game in Mannheim and in the three games that followed. Reaching the semi-finals was the logical and absolutely deserved consequence.
2) Good starts are the key to victory
In the style of a tournament team worthy of a champion. In the second duel, Serge Aubin’s team turned around a 4-2 win (0-2, 3-0, 1-0) after a 2-0 deficit. And in games three, four and five, the Eisbären didn’t let anything go wrong, took the lead in the first third and brought home the victories.
In the fifth and decisive duel, Julian Melchiori put the Berliners in front after just 59 seconds, before Zach Boychuk scored a goal a few minutes before the end of the game to secure their place in the last four and prevent extra time.
Strong support: Eisbären goalie Jake Hildebrand. 3) Defense wins championships
A saying that is as old as team sports itself also holds true with regard to the Eisbären’s entry into the semi-finals: Defense wins championships. All in all, the Berliners impressed with their solid defensive performance in the quarter-final series against Mannheim – especially thanks to their outstanding goalie Jake Hildebrand.
“Mannheim put us under enormous pressure, but we held up well and Jake Hildebrand was unbelievable,” said Tobias Eder said about his teammate in the box after the decisive victory in the fourth game.
While the German record champions had to concede nine goals in the first two matches of the series, they only conceded five in the following three duels.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, March 27, 2024, 7:00 a.m