The reigning champion Eisbären goes to strong performances in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) confidently into the new season of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). “I am optimistic,” said coach Serge Aubin on Sunday evening after the 3-0 against Sparta Prague“But we remain realistic. We know that we have a long journey ahead of us.” The Berliners will play against the Kölner Haie next Friday for the start of the DEL (7.30 p.m., live on Magentasport).
Against Prague, the Berliners had, as they had two days before, 3:2 after penalty shootout against Dynamo Pardubice put in a convincing performance. With eight points from the first four main round games, they now have the best chance of reaching the round of 16 of the CHL. Aubin’s interim conclusion was correspondingly positive. “I’m satisfied,” said the Canadian. “We’ve improved from game to game. I like where we are now before the start of the DEL.”
Stable defense despite numerous failures
The capital city team was particularly convincing in defence. The personnel situation in defence had previously given cause for concern. Korbinian Geibel, Marco Nowak and Rio Kaiser are three defenders who will be out for a few weeks due to injury.
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The Eisbären reacted and signed the 1.97m giant Markus Niemeläinen last Thursday, who has already played 43 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). The 26-year-old defender made a remarkable debut against Prague: With his early goal to make it 1-0, he put the Berlin team on course for victory, and then the Finn contributed to the strong defensive performance of the entire team. Coach Aubin also said he played a “superb game”.
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“We are very happy about this victory, it was a great team performance,” said Niemeläinen in a short YouTube interview, but admitted: “I still have to get used to it. It’s been a while since my last game and I’ve only just gotten to know the team.”
The former teammate of Germany’s ice hockey superstar Leon Draisaitl at the Oilers is likely to reinforce the opinion of many DEL officials that the Eisbären are going into the new season as favorites. Mitch O’Keefe, coach of the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, for example, says: “My favorite is Berlin because they have won so many times and Serge Aubin is doing an excellent job as a coach there.”
Larry Mitchell, sports director of the Augsburg Panthers, sees it similarly: “They know how to win championships.” And now they are also convincing in the CHL, which was not the case in previous years. (dpa)
