Unequal duel: The Berlin Eisbären (left) swept the sharks from Cologne with seven goals from the ice.
Photo: Imago/Jürgen Engler
Many a fan already saw the master cup for the polar bears Berlin sparkle in the distance – so beautiful and so convincing The main round run from the capital defeated the final opponent in the sold -out arena at the Ostbahnhof. The 7-0 (2: 0.3: 0.2: 0)-Triumph of the Berliner against overwhelmed Cologne Haie saw 14 200 spectators on Easter Monday, the polar bear fans among them celebrated the second victory in the third game of the best-off-Seven final series of the German ice hockey league (DEL).
Record player
“We achieved a clear victory today,” said Leo Pföderl, but immediately warned: “But we still don’t have the championship title. We now have to appear very concentrated in the next two games. Only then can we get the title. ”The 31-year-old Bayer from the Eisbären Berlin had banged three goals online-and broken several records.
Pföderl had given the record champion 2-0 in the first third. The striker scored his third goal after almost half an hour: With the 4-0, the Berliners were finally a record player on the Siegerstraße and Pföderl. With 46 playoff goals now, he is now at the forefront of this DEL statistics in front of the previous record holder Patrick Reimer. He will not resent him: on the one hand, they are friends, on the other hand, Reimer enthroned with a total of 394 goals on the DEL tip.
Export hit
“I’m more of a guy who doesn’t like to do a lot with the disc,” says national player Pföderl. No problem at all. Because when the striker has the window, it often ends up in the opposing goal. With his three goals against Cologne, he now has a total of 248 goals in the DEL – and thus exceeded Andre Rankel’s club record, which was the most dangerous Berlin polar bear in history with 247 goals.
Between Pföderl’s hat trick, Ty Ronning scored 3-0 against Cologne. Together with the Canadian, the Bayer forms the Knaller duo of the polar bear, the lively Ronning has brought it to 55 goals so far this season. The Award show of the DEL in Cologne in mid-March proved how valuable both are for the Berliners: Pföderl was recognized as “player of the year”, the Munich evening newspaper then celebrated him as “Tölz export slack in Berlin.” Eisbear Ronning was awarded the second best.
Captaincy
Of course, a team does not only consist of strikers and certainly not just two players. In the current hot playoff phase, defenders Jonas Müller is particularly evident in the polar bears. The 29-year-old has been driving the puck over the ice in the old Hohenschönhausen corrugated trolley since childhood. After polar bear captain Kai Wissmann suffered a serious hand injury in the 1-1 win in the second final of the polar bears in Cologne, Müller took over the captain’s office and has been leading the team convincingly since then. Against Cologne he also met 7-0 final score.
This clear victory also left the opponent in amazement. “The polar bears were outstanding today,” said Cologne’s Finnish coach Kari Jalons. Probably true, as dynamic and disciplined as on Easter Monday, the Berliners did not always swirl between the gangs. And that is zero at the back shows that the polar bears with the American Jake Hildebrand are also heavily occupied in the goal. The Berliners apparently have everything a master team needs, now two victories are still missing.
Meister trophy
“We have to play in Cologne as well as today when we want to win,” said polar bear coach Serge Aubin on Easter Monday after the final whistle. However, the man, which was often critical in his analyzes, also raved to 7: 0. “My team played great. I am very happy and I am proud of you. ”The polar bears continue to play in a similar way, then the championship cup can actually sparkle on Friday in the local hall.