DEL semi-final with record hunt and open favorite role

“Both teams could hardly be more balanced,” said Adler coach Dallas Eakins before the start of the series against Munich on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.). The new edition of last year’s final (7 p.m./both MagentaSport) is also much more open this time. “The lesson we learned will help us a lot this year,” said Cologne coach Kari Jalonen.

The starting coach added perhaps the last piece of the mosaic to his team, which was already significantly better equipped this season, by signing goalkeeper Janne Juvonen. His Finnish compatriot was recently named not only the best keeper, but also the best player in the entire league. In the playoffs, Juvonen is currently leading the goalkeeper statistics again. “Last season was the last season,” said Eisbären coach Serge Aubin. “They have a different team.”

Viewer record probably

The DEL can not only look forward to a lot of excitement, but also a playoff viewership record. The previous highest average of 10,719 viewers from last year will almost certainly be expanded. The four semi-finalists are not just the clubs with the highest budgets and the greatest attention. They also have the largest halls with the highest occupancy.

European record holder Cologne also leads this ranking with a playoff average of 18,600 fans so far and is expecting a sold-out house against the Eisbären in the best-of-seven series (four wins are necessary to advance). Things don’t look much different for the Polar Bears (14,141 spectators), Eagles (13,229) and the EHC (10,796).

Emotions and toughness expected in Mannheim against Munich

There are likely to be a lot of emotions and aggressive duels, especially in the prestigious duel between Mannheim and Munich. The EHC’s tough quarter-final series against Ingolstadt with the nasty foul by national defender Fabio Wagner, which sent Ingolstadt’s Edwin Tropmann to the hospital and was banned for at least the rest of the season, still has an impact.

“Munich was just about not necessarily injuring players, but taking players out for the next game,” criticized Ingolstadt’s veteran attacker Daniel Pietta at MagentaSport. Mannheim should also have something to counteract a possible overly tough style of play. The Eagles are the team with the third most penalty times in the league so far, the EHC the one with the most.

The coaches Eakins (Mannheim) and Oliver David (Munich) were fined in the quarterfinals because, in the league’s opinion, they no longer had any influence on the discipline of their players.