The introduction to the press conference made it clear that it would not be an everyday one: the Düsseldorfer EG press spokesman “nevertheless” thanked the spectators “who were here today”. Then Steven Reinprecht, Düsseldorf’s coach, set the tone. He used the terms “embarrassing” and “shameful” several times. His conclusion: “They simply tore us apart.” If there is a team that is being shamed, then there is also a team that has conjured up this unpleasant emotional situation. And in this case it was the EHC Red Bull Munich, who, well, dismantled the Düsseldorf team 8-0 in their arena last Sunday.
This game marked the climax of a significantly changed EHC mood. Just a week earlier, defender Les Lancaster had spoken of a “pretty embarrassing” game after league leaders ERC Ingolstadt won 4-0 in Munich. According to Lancaster, this not only resulted in clear words from coaches and management, but also a clear announcement from the north curve of the SAP Gardens: Already in the first minute of the derby against the Straubing Tigers, demands of “We want to see you fight” were raised there .
Munich’s offensive is currently hard to decipher for their opponents: ten different EHC players scored in the last three games.
The EHC players’ response to this was strong: starting with a 3-1 win against Straubinger, the EHC celebrated three victories within six days, including an impressive 4-1 win over defending champions Eisbären Berlin. Munich’s goal difference of 15:2 in these three games speaks volumes. “Our consistent defense is the basis for us to storm forward successfully,” said national goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger, explaining the recipe for success. This basis has been very solid for three games, as the two goals conceded against Straubing and Berlin came shortly before the end, when both games had already been decided. It’s hard to imagine a better basis in ice hockey.
As solid as the defense was, Munich’s offense was just as unpredictable for the opponents: ten different EHC players scored in the three games. Since the EHC worked so well as a collective recently, the loss of attacker Adam Brooks due to injury was also perfectly compensated for. Coach Max Kaltenhauser has reshuffled the offensive ranks, the young attacking guard around Veit Oswald, Filip Varejcka and Nikolaus Heigl no longer played as a block, but was given established strikers to the side. That worked too. In addition, the “luxury of being able to rotate continuously” proved to be positive, as Konrad Abeltshauser found.
Thanks to the nine-point spurt, the gap to the third-placed Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven is now only three points. “We have set an example,” said Kaltenhauser after the victory in Berlin. The EHC could have the next one on Friday, in the game against the Mannheimer Adler (7.30 p.m.). The Electoral Palatinate are also in good shape and have just as many points in their account as the Munich team.
#German #Ice #Hockey #League #Munich #setting
