After 74 games, Munich is crowned champion
Munich celebrates the DEL title
Source: pa/dpa/Ulrich Gamel/Kolbert-Press
The gripping ice hockey final series between Munich and Ingolstadt is decided after the fifth game. Munich celebrate their fourth championship title. Record coach Don Jackson cheers with tears in his eyes.
DEL record coach Don Jackson happily threw his arms up when Andreas Eder scored the goal – and a few minutes later the fourth Munich ice hockey triumph was perfect. In a tight fifth playoff final, favorite EHC Red Bull Munich defeated energetic challenger ERC Ingolstadt 3-1.
Right winger Eder made it 2-1 in the final period before Filip Varejcka finally decided the game in the 59th minute with his goal into the empty Ingolstadt goal. The guests had already taken goalkeeper Jonas Stettmer off the ice to force an extension. There is no longer a sixth final game on Tuesday in Ingolstadt. “Unbelievable! Beautiful! It doesn’t feel real yet. We’re just celebrating now. The last final is usually the most difficult,” said Fredrik Tiffels at MagentaSport. It was 74 games until the crowning of the season.
With nine titles, Don Jackson is the most successful coach in DEL history
Quelle: Getty Images/Leonhard Simon
From a Munich perspective, 2:1, 7:1, 3:4, 3:0 and 3:1 were the results in the exciting series of finals between the two clubs from Upper Bavaria. For Munich it was the first championship after the titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and then two lost series of finals. For the 66-year-old American Jackson, once champion maker at the Eisbären Berlin, it was the ninth DEL title win. The record coach wiped his wet eyes deeply touched with a winning cap on his head.
Kastner voted Most Valuable Player
In front of the 5,728 spectators in the Munich hall, which was again sold out, it was hard and intense right from the start on the ice. The Ingolstadt team wanted to force a sixth final with full physical effort. And the EHC must definitely celebrate the fourth championship title in front of its fans after the polar bears in Munich were able to win the title perfectly in the 2022 final series. “If there’s another celebration in this hall, then it’s us,” said EHC sports director Christian Winkler before the first face-off at MagentaSport.
The Ingolstadt team did not wait and see, but aggressively. Ty Ronning scored after a pass that landed happily in front of his racket from the Munich goal posts. National goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger, who was so highly praised for his performance in Munich’s victory in the fourth final game, looked unhappy. Munich’s Maximilian Kastner then woke up his team: After a hard check against Wojciech Stachowiak, Kastner had to go to the penalty box. When the attacker came back, he promptly made it 1-1 (13th).
Munich decides the game in the power play
“It’s physically going well, but it’s still fun,” commented Kastner during the second break. Kastner was later awarded MVP, i.e. the best player in the final series. Ingolstadt’s third goalkeeper, the young Jonas Stettmer, saved his team from falling behind with some strong saves in the middle section, especially when they were outnumbered. The ERC also acted temporarily outnumbered, but without scoring.
In the final third it was more and more towards the decisive action. And that came in a majority situation: Right winger Eder hit the near corner after 51 minutes and 53 seconds. The 26-year-old was crowned the final match winner. It was also the decision in the exciting coaching duel between Jackson and his Ingolstadt challenger Mark French (51). It could be the end for the DEL record coach. Jackson has been in charge of Munich for nine years and may switch to another role. The Ingolstadt team from French acted on an equal footing again on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to win the title for the second time after 2014.
