Ben Street smiled mischievously when he heard the question. It was whether the EHC Red Bull Munich would now start rolling again. “I don’t know,” said the Munich striker, “it’s slowly coming back.” With is he said: the good feeling. The EHC had won three games in a row when Street was recently asked the question that would have been rather inappropriate in December, after Munich lost five in a row. The forced break in the form of the second Corona team quarantine of the season seemed to have been good for the people of Munich, since then they have been more disciplined and, above all, more defensively attentive to their work. “The short break did us good. We did a lot of tactical work during that time and implemented the adjustments to the system excellently,” explained Frank Mauer.
On Sunday afternoon, however, Munich suffered a setback. The EHC was already 3-0 down after the first third and lost 3-1 in the end against the Eisbären Berlin, the current champions and leaders of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
A decisive factor in Berlin’s victory was national goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger, who played particularly well in the middle third. “We didn’t have an answer in the second third. Thanks to Mathias, he kept us in the game,” said Eisbären coach Serge Aubin at the press conference. Niederberger was “definitely hot”, Munich coach Don Jackson had to admit.
“We’re happy to have him. He’s been playing like this all season,” said Berlins Morgen Ellis about his goalkeeper
Defenders Zach Redmond and Maksymilian Szuber returned to the squad for Bayern, allowing Mauer to return to his usual attacking position. The EHC goal was guarded by Danny from the birches. The men in front of them had the better chances to score in the game, which was fast-paced from the start, Justin Schütz failed to go it alone under pressure from Niederberger (10th). But the Berliners really got going towards the end of the third period: Frank Hördler’s powerful shot from the blue line landed in the EHC box because Manuel Wiederer blocked the view from the birch trees in an exemplary manner (15th). After two missed chances by Munich attacking defender Zach Redmond, Marcel Noebels went it alone to make it 2-0 (17th). 1.7 seconds before the end of the third period, Matt White made it 3-0 with a majority. “The problem is how we exploit our chances,” said Schütz after the first 20 minutes at Magentasport. “I would say we were the better team, but again we don’t score and eat things like that. Then it’s 0-3.”
Aus den Birken’s working day ended after the first third, Henrik Haukeland, who recently celebrated a win against the Eisbären on his debut, moved into the Munich goal. The Berliners only had one goalkeeper in Niederberger, but he held for two – especially in the middle third. His saves against Redmond (23′), Frederik Tiffels (24′) and Yasin Ehliz (38′) were strong, those with the catch hand against Street, who were very well staged by Trevor Parkes, were sensational (30′). “We’re happy to have him. He’s been playing like this all season,” said Berlins Morgen Ellis about his goalkeeper. Niederberger was also powerless against a follow-up shot by Jonathon Blum to make it 1: 3 from a Munich perspective (35th). In terms of intensity and dynamics, the DEL top game lived up to all expectations, because the polar bears also remained dangerous, such as when White went it alone outnumbered when he just missed the Munich goal (27th).
In the final third, the league leaders from Berlin regained control of the game, Niederberger didn’t have to shine anymore because the people in front defended strongly – especially in the last two minutes, in which the Munich team didn’t use a six-a-side lead.
