The party crashers from Berlin: the polar bears play with eagles – sport
It was a fair atmosphere in the arena of Mannheim. The fans of the Adler among the 13,600 spectators swayed into the boozy party in the early evening of April 22nd, which was later to go on into the night in the streets of the Baden metropolis. Mannheim’s coach, Harold Kreis, had noticed before the game on the arena’s video cube that he had “got up with a lot of anticipation for the big day”. You don’t become champions every day, not even as a coach at Adler Mannheim. And Kreis was probably right too, after 46 minutes of play his team was leading 5-2 in the fourth final of the German ice hockey championship against the Eisbären from Berlin.
Nothing could go wrong there. Or something just goes terribly wrong – and that’s possible from Mannheim’s point of view. Four goals after Mannheim’s fifth goal, the party mutated into a memorial service, TJ Mulock scored in extra time to make it 6:5 for the Berliners, who made one of the biggest comebacks in the history of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) and in the play-off series to 2:2 had triggered. Two days later, the polar bears in Berlin became champions after a win in game five, Mannheim was served.
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That was in 2012, exactly ten years later, also on April 22nd, on Friday there was a little deja vu for the Adler supporters. Again, the Mannheimers led into the last third, but again the polar bears shot their way to victory. 2:1 behind Mannheim in front after 48 minutes, in the end Berlin won 6:3. Except that this time it wasn’t a game of a final series, but a semi-final game. In this series, which was played according to the “Best of five” format, the polar bears are now leading 2-0 and can advance to the final after winning game three on Sunday in Berlin (5 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Arena). Anything else would be a surprise, even if Mannheim attacker Jordan Szwarz uses the rhetoric of a team flying backwards, which is usual for such moments: “We can keep up with the polar bears, we may be in a hole after this bitter defeat, but we’re not beaten yet.”
Not yet, but probably soon. Although it is difficult to say how much the 5: 6 from 2012 still has an effect. Felix Brückmann, Matthias Plachta and Denis Reul were already in the squad for Mannheim at the time, with only the indestructible Frank Hördler from the current Eisbären team. But that means nothing. Such unbelievable games have a lasting effect and if only one or two Mannheim players in the dressing room think about April 2012, then it can be a disadvantage – Christoph Ullmann, then on the ice with Mannheim and now a television commentator, has a similar experience recently reported association.
Sure, a lot has happened since 2012, but the Adler seem somehow outdated after their great times afterwards and the title under the coach Pavel Gross, who has since passed away. Especially since with Bill Stewart there is now a man of the old school behind the gang. He was coach of the Adler in 2000 and stands for success (2001 champion with Mannheim), but also for a number of sometimes unsavory capers. It ranges from a fight with an opposing coach (Gross in 2001, then with the Berlin Capitals), a fake weakness attack in the final against Munich (2001) and the accusation of racist remarks against a mental coach (2007). Stewart has happened to have “overshot the mark” at times in the past. On his third engagement in Mannheim, however, the Canadian with the rasping voice seems to the outside world, as always, as if time has stood still.
Serge Aubin babbles ahead of Game 3 – but that can mean good things
In Berlin, on the other hand, there is still nothing. The polar bears play more modern than ever, coach Serge Aubin takes advantage of the broad squad and surprises again and again with his line-ups – for example with the nomination of Johan Södergran and Mark Zengerle in the game on Friday. There’s music in the polar bears, they don’t let themselves be beaten that easily. It was no different on Friday evening in Mannheim. “We only care about one thing and that is; Win,” says coach Serge Aubin. And while Stewart’s novels could be filled with deeds and words, Aubin probably needs a piece of paper to compile a “best of” of his statements. The man, whose career as a player in the NHL and DEL and as a coach (champion with Vienna and the polar bears) was and is so successful, rhetorically bricks. Before game three in Berlin, Aubin says: “The last win is always the hardest. It’s up to us to close this now.” Oh right.
To Serge Aubin’s credit, success is also harder to describe than failure. Sure, the polar bears can only beat themselves on Sunday, but they don’t like doing it that much. Incidentally, in April 2012 that was Sven Felski’s biggest fear after Mannheim’s 6-5 win. “Some of them celebrated in the dressing room afterwards, as if they were already champions,” recalls the attacker at the time. “It was really intense. I had to get them on the carpet very quickly.”
That works, as we know, and is probably not necessary this time. The polar bears seem far too efficient for that.
On the other hand, it is quite possible that the final pairing will already be determined after the polar bears’ game: RB Munich is also leading 2-0 in its series (against Wolfsburg). A final against the team of their former coach Don Jackson, in 2012 at 6: 5 from Mannheim behind the Berlin gang, would be a big number for the polar bears.