The German Ice Hockey League quickly came to terms with the unfamiliar circumstances in the new season. At the weekend there was hardly any irritation about another game without spectators and fewer emotions.
“We are all incredibly happy that things are starting now. It was a difficult time,” said Olympic silver medalist Yannic Seidenberg from EHC Red Bull Munich after the hard-fought 3-2 derby win (2-1, 1-1, 0 : 0) on Sunday against the Augsburg Panthers. After the previous season, which was canceled in March without a championship, the league was forced to take a nine-month break.
Even without the fan crowd in the otherwise always emotionally charged Bavarian derby, the title favorite had a hard time kicking off the unusual and shortened DEL season. “You can’t look at us great that we didn’t have so much training camp and such a fuss. We can keep up well. The people of Munich always poop in front of us, and you can see that again today,” said Augsburg’s Henry Haase on Edge of the game at “MagentaSport”. Since Munich has been training again for months, but Augsburg decided late to participate in the unusual and shortened DEL season, which was shaped by the corona crisis, the EHC was considered a big favorite.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the DEL season had been postponed twice. Only after the players waived their wages, additional sponsorship money and state aid was the game time still possible. Until the middle of March, only 38 out of 52 match days are played almost daily in a north and a south group.
Schwenningen surprisingly wins in Ingolstadt
In the better-filled southern group, Munich’s likely title rival Adler Mannheim presented a 5: 1 (3: 0, 1: 1, 1: 0) against the Nürnberg Ice Tigers on Saturday. On Sunday, outsiders surprised Schwenningen with a 2: 1 (1: 0, 1: 0, 0: 1) at ERC Ingolstadt. On Thursday the season started with a 5-4 win for the Düsseldorfer EG after a penalty shootout in the derby against the Kölner Haie. The players had complained about the strange atmosphere and lack of emotions from the stands.
The entire season is planned without any audience income. In the northern group, the Grizzlys Wolfsburg won 4: 1 (0: 1, 2: 0, 2: 0) against the great outsider Krefeld Pinguine on Sunday evening. The Rhinelander had drawn attention to themselves in the past few weeks, above all with strange staff turnover. “We have a team. And we can only get through the fight and the commitment,” said captain Martin Schymainski.
The first matchday in the overview
Eisbären Berlin – Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven 3: 2 (1: 1, 1: 0, 1: 1)
Tore: 1:0 Foucault (2:01), 1:1 McMillan (11:22), 2:1 White (37:12), 3:1 Pföderl (51:08), 3:2 Andersen (59:27)
Spectators: none
Penalty minutes: Berlin 14 – Bremerhaven 10
Kölner Haie – Düsseldorf EG 4: 5 nP (1: 1, 1: 1, 2: 2, 0: 0, 0: 1)
Tore: 1: 0 Tiffels (3:58), 1: 1 Karachun (9:13), 1: 2 Jahnke (32:38), 2: 2 Sheppard (37:11), 2: 3 Barta (40:59), 2: 4 Alanov (46:43), 3: 4 Matsumoto (57:20), 4: 4 Matsumoto (59:39), 4: 5 Jahnke (Penalty)
Spectator: none
Penalty minutes: Cologne 12 – Düsseldorf 12
Grizzlys Wolfsburg – Krefeld Pinguine 4: 1 (0: 1, 2: 0, 2: 0)
Tore: 0: 1 Tianulin (14:44), 1: 1 Bruggisser (35:12), 2: 1 Görtz (36:16), 3: 1 Görtz (40:42), 4: 1 Järvinen (44:27)
Spectator: none
Penalty minutes: Wolfsburg 8 – Krefeld 14
Adler Mannheim – Nürnberg Ice Tigers 5:1 (3:0, 1:1, 1:0)
Tore: 1: 0 Huhtala (14:55), 2: 0 Plachta (15:38), 3: 0 Krupp (17:46), 4: 0 Smith (24:44), 4: 1 Broda (35:22), 5: 1 Wolf (44:18)
Spectator: none
Penalty minutes: Mannheim 4 – Nuremberg 6
Red Bull Munich – Augsburger Panther 3: 2 (2: 1, 1: 1, 0: 0)
Tore: 1:0 Parkes (3:37), 1:1 Eisenmenger (6:01), 2:1 Redmond (14:45), 3:1 Seidenberg (32:08), 3:2 Holzmann (39:48)
Spectator: none
Penalty minutes: Munich 4 – Augsburg 6
ERC Ingolstadt – Schwenninger Wild Wings 1: 2 (0: 1, 0: 1, 1: 0)
Tore: 0: 1 White (08:22), 0: 2 MacQueen (25:29), 1: 2 Storm (52:21)
Spectator: none
Penalty minutes: Ingolstadt 10 – Schwenningen 14
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