Denis Reul made it to the Adler’s bench with the last of his strength. Two minutes outnumbered on the ice, while the Mannheim defender had blocked three shots in the final phase of the game. You have to do that first without tipping over. Normally a professional stands on the ice for 30 or 40 seconds – after that the muscles become acidic. Covered in sweat and still gasping, the national defender, 1.93 meters tall and 108 kilos, said later in an interview: “That’s my job.” And Reul had done it well – Mannheim won 2-0 against Munich.
The game was the highlight of the ice hockey weekend. The high level was no wonder given the occupation of both teams, there were 21 German national players on both sides on the ice. The fact that the Adler, last champion of the German ice hockey league in 2019, won for the fourth time this season against the former series champions Munich also shows that the path to the title this time only leads through Baden.
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They are not that far in Berlin yet, first of all, the last two games in the northern group of the league, which is divided into two parts in pandemic times, have to be played. After the games against Cologne (Wednesday, 6.30 p.m., live on Magentasport) and on Saturday against Düsseldorf, there are 14 games against the representatives from the south before the mini-play-offs. It is played in the pandemic mode “Best of three”.
In the cute pandemic play-offs, the polar bears could surprise the Mannheimers. So whoosh: won twice by mistake and the eagles are out. Although a surprise would be exaggerated overall, because the polar bears are now the measure of all things in the northern group.
Before the game in Cologne, her coach Serge Aubin says that his team has worked very well recently. “Power play, penalty killing are good for us. The attention is there, the details in the game are right – with or without a puck. We are tough opponents for everyone. ”
Anything but a clear victory for the polar bears would be a surprise
A tough opponent even for the Kölner Haie: They have played against the polar bears three times this season and lost three times. Now the Haie are fighting for a place in the play-offs, they are fifth in the north, fourth would be necessary. Aubin says: “The people of Cologne have an experienced team. It will be hard work, but we will be ready. “
In Cologne, meanwhile, coach Uwe Krupp is struggling with the fact that his team lacks experienced players in view of the many injuries. In defense, national player Moritz Müller is now the only player who has had a career for a few years. The Cologne line-up in defense does not match what Aubin says for the best. Krupp says: “Against a team like Berlin it will be a big challenge, for the boys and the team as a whole.”
Well, there are also a few experienced Cologne artists in the attack of the sharks such as James Sheppard, Marcel Müller or above all Frederik Tiffels – but they don’t always work with the sharks at the push of a button. Anything but a clear victory for the polar bears would be a surprise.
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