Ice hockey: DEL: The polar bears are flying high

A look back illustrates the serious change that polar bears are currently undergoing. It is, so to speak, the opposite model to the previous season. Exactly a year ago they were 13th in the table after Christmas. in the field of 15 clubs at the time with 12 wins and 21 defeats, they had nothing to do with the championship and were 10 points behind and far away from the playoffs – and that as defending champions!

Now the anniversary season for the… DEL record champions not only end with “compensation” but, in the best case scenario, also be crowned with the tenth championship title. Not an impossible undertaking, because the Berliners are well on their way to becoming the “kings on the eternal ice” that their fans have so much praised about. Leading the field at the halfway point of the season after 26 games, the Eisbären are currently in second place (63 points) behind their unexpectedly toughest opponent, Pinguins Bremerhaven (64 points) after 31 game days – with 22 wins, nine defeats and an impressive goal difference of 112:75. No other team scored as many goals.

Berlin’s soaring began on the ninth matchday. Since then they have been top of the table a total of 18 times. This change can be attributed to a balanced attack and a defense in which, in addition to the outstanding keeper Jake Hildebrand, the two German national players, captain Kai Wissmann and Jonas Müller, as well as the Canadian Morgan Ellis, there are three of the best defenders in the DEL. The attacking strength has now been increased even further with the signing of 28-year-old Canadian striker Jaedon Descheneau, who signed a contract until the end of the current season at the beginning of December and has scored four goals in five appearances so far.

Head coach Serge Aubin, in office since 2019 and with his team champions in 2021 and 2022, describes the alternative model as follows: “With our squad well-staffed in all positions, we have managed to return to fast, aggressive and typical Eisbären ice hockey. « The fact that the high flight is sometimes slowed down is due to some serious mistakes and weak performances at home. When there were three home defeats in a row in mid-November, a crisis seemed to be brewing. The absence of nine top performers due to injury or illness was one explanation for this, but the head coach did not accept it so easily. »Of course it is difficult to have the usual security and quality as a team in this situation, but our mutual support on the ice is simply not good.«

With five wins in a row, the Eisbären were no longer in crisis mode, but the setback on their own ice with a 3-1 defeat against seven-time DEL champions Adler Mannheim, who fired coaches and managers after a long series of defeats, drew attention once again more on weak home performances, especially against teams at the bottom of the table. The 22 wins (ten at home and twelve away) are compared to nine defeats, seven of which were at home and only two away. “We still have a lot of work to do here,” the coach announced. The result: The last home appearance of the year on Boxing Day with a 2-1 win against Wolfsburg was the third home win in a row – a first this season.

As things stand, the 30th season could end with surprises. In addition to the Eisbären, the front runner Bremerhaven, who recently pushed the leading Eisbären off the top three times, and the Straubing Tigers are always in focus. The Penguins, who have only been playing in the upper house since 2016, have never made it past the quarter-finals, and Straubing has continually failed to advance since 2021. This time both teams are attacking and want to reach the semi-finals with all their might. By March 16th at the latest, when the quarter-final playoffs begin, the actual favorites will have emerged.

Another word about a drastic innovation that will come into force on January 1st: After serious injury accidents, all DEL players must from now on wear the mandatory cut-proof neck and neck protection, which, however, restricts the range of motion, as the players say. But protection against serious injuries takes priority. From 2024/2025, this protection, which has been in place for years in the youth sector, will become mandatory in all leagues of the German Ice Hockey Association.