Munich moves into the final
DEL gets first Bavarian-Bavarian final
4/13/2023 3:33 am
Six exciting duels are followed by a smashing victory in an all-or-nothing game: EHC Red Bull Munich tears apart the Grizzlies Wolfsburg in the semi-finals of the German Ice Hockey League – and ensures a premiere in the final.
Main round winner Red Bull Munich made the first final in the history of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) between two teams from Bavaria perfect. Last year’s finalist defeated the Grizzlys Wolfsburg 7:2 (2:0, 3:2, 2:0) in the semi-final showdown and thus won the best-of-seven series with 4:3 victories. As close as the games in the previous six meetings were, the seventh comparison in front of 5728 spectators was clear.
In the maximum of seven finals, the three-time champions will meet ERC Ingolstadt from Friday, five years after their last title win. Munich’s neighbors beat Adler Mannheim 4-2 in the semi-finals.
“We avoided the small mistakes and did a lot of things right. We deservedly made it through and can play with confidence in the final,” said Maximilian Kastner from Munich “after a rollercoaster of emotions” on the MagentaSport microphone. Wolfsburg coach Mike Stewart struggled with the knockout: “It’s very bitter and difficult to digest, but I still have to take my hat off to my team and their performance.”
Ice hockey stronghold Bavaria represented twice for the first time
Munich, who missed their first chance to reach the final in the sixth semi-final on Easter Monday by beating the Grizzlies 2-3, set the course for their sixth appearance in the final in the deciding game against Wolfsburg until the middle of the game. Wolfsburg went under in a Munich storm with goals from Justin Schütz (3rd) and Yasin Ehliz (11th) and overtime goals from Christopher Desousa (27th), Trevor Parkes (29th) and Patrick Hager (32nd). “We can’t all run forward like crazy and leave our goalkeeper alone,” complained Fabio Pfohl at Magentasport. Wolfsburg goalkeeper Dustin Strahlmeier saved his team from a debacle with numerous saves.
After that, the guests could no longer hope for a successful revenge for the lost DEL finals in 2016 and 2017, despite the cosmetic results made by Laurin Braun (36th) and Darren Archibald (38th). “Actually, I’m very happy, but the goals will probably make them believe in themselves again,” Munich’s goalscorer Parkes warned in the third break. In the middle of Wolfsburg’s last offensive efforts, Filip Varejcka (57th) and Andreas Eder (59th) scored into the empty Grizzly goal to decide for the hosts.
Until the finals of Munich and Ingolstadt, which won the title in 2014, two teams from the traditional ice hockey stronghold Bavaria had never faced each other in the finals of the German championship in the DEL, founded in 1994. The two finalists determine the successor to Eisbären Berlin. The capital team had missed the playoffs after winning two titles in a row due to a disappointing season.