Despite all the problems in the past few days and weeks, the polar bears were in a holiday mood on Friday evening. Many fans had put on pointed hats and a “tinkle bell, tinkleling” sounded through the arena again and again. The team played a home game against the Bietigheim Steelers, which made the 10,230 people in attendance very happy.
With the 5: 0 (2: 0, 2: 0, 1: 0) against the bottom of the table Bietigheim, the Berliners got some breathing space in the relegation battle before it continues on the second holiday in Ingolstadt (4.30 p.m., Magentasport).
In the event that their team drags itself across the ice, as in most past home games, supporters in the Hartmut-Nickel curve had rolled out a banner that said: “Fight for our club, we don’t want to be relegated .”
The polar bears certainly did not present themselves as an acute relegation candidate, which also had to do with a grateful construction opponent. Although the Berliners have only won one of three DEL home games against Bietigheim before.
0: 5 swatter on Wednesday in Wolfsburg
In contrast to the 5-0 loss in Wolfsburg on Wednesday, Serge Aubin’s team seemed alert right from the start. After being outnumbered 3:5, Frank Mauer prepared with one man less on the ice for Giovanni Fiore, who scored Berlin’s first goal of the season (9th). Four minutes later, Leo Pföderl threw the puck into the goal with such force on the power play that it was only visible just behind the line and the video evidence had to provide certainty.
And also the middle third, which often breaks up this season after a successful initial phase, seemed very convincing at the beginning, with the exception of very few wobbles. Not only because of the second goal by Giovanni Fiore, who deflected a shot from Eric Mik (24th), and Zach Boychuk’s 4-0, who completed a move with Kevin Clark, as if the Berliners had done nothing else recently.
It was consistently the plan to see what the game of the polar bears should look like – with powerful forechecking, structured attacks, intensive duels. With six points after three games this week – against two relegation candidates at that – and this joyful performance, the fans can be a little more optimistic about the next games.
In addition, Juho Markkanen did not concede a goal, with which the Berliners celebrated the first shutout of the season. Giovanni Fiore scored the end of an atmospheric working day with his third goal of the day (54th) to make it 5:0. And so, in the last few minutes, an “Oh, how nice is that” rang out from the ranks.
Of course, the bitter gossip in Wolfsburg on Wednesday is also part of this week. In order to widen the gap to the relegation zone, the constant setbacks must be avoided. What seems possible with the impression of once again having played a really convincing game.
To home page
