Eagles crash the Eisbären championship party: A dramatic turn in the DEL final between Berlin and Mannheim

After seven home wins in these play-offs, you didn’t really get the feeling that the Eisbären would stumble again in this last step this season. But the supposedly safe 3-1 lead after 47 minutes was not enough to get this game and this final series over the stage. Suddenly a 3:3 glowed from the video cube. And in the end a 3:4 (0:0, 2:1, 1:2, 0:1) after extra time.

Brilliant final chord from Adler Mannheim

With the feeling that they had nothing to lose and that they had to put everything on one card, the guests reached a brilliant final chord. Zack Solow in the majority (53′) and Alexander Ehl (57′) equalized before the game became a thriller.

Extra time is extremely stressful on the nerves because every mistake can mean the difference between victory and defeat. But this evening the situation was even more explosive. Because for the Eagles it was about nothing less than sporting survival this season.

After three very one-sided games, this evening delivered everything that makes ice hockey hearts beat faster. You would want this kind of tension in a final series, even if the Berliners had of course wanted a different outcome. After Mannheim’s 4-3 win in extra time by Luke Esposito in the 84th minute, you could already feel how much of an impact it had.

The Eisbären are still the big favorites for this title. After four games they are now leading 3-1 and still have two match pucks to the title. The next game is on Sunday in Mannheim (4.30 p.m., Magentasport). But of course the statics of this series have now shifted slightly.

So far, the Mannheimers haven’t had the slightest chance and the polar bears have walked from victory to victory almost like a somnambulist. This evening they showed that they can hurt the Berliners after losing eleven play-off games in a row.

As far as the atmosphere in the arena is concerned, this evening seemed very dramatic. After the goals from Les Lancaster, Liam Kirk and Markus Vikingstad, the countdown to a long night of partying was already underway. The interim 1:3 by Nicolas Mattinen seemed like a sign of life from the Eagles – but nothing more.

Jonas Stettmer once again seemed almost invincible and also made strong saves this evening. But on this evening the Eagles were able to reward themselves for once because they put pressure on the Berlin goal like rarely before in this series.

Now it remains to be seen whether Berlin’s self-image has suffered somewhat as a result of this setback. And how the Mannheimers react to the feeling of having escaped the early knockout in this final series, at least for the time being. This victory doesn’t mean they have any less pressure.