EHC outplayed in Berlin
EHC Red Bull Munich faced a tough challenge in Berlin against the reigning German champions Polarbears Berlin. Only some 40 hours after their hard-fought 3-0 victory over Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams, Munich travelled up to the capital with a weakened outfit after injuries to Brent Aubin (concussion) and Uli Maurer (hip tendon tear).
Berlin, backed by 14,200 ecstatic fans at O2 World, had the better start to the game and their efficiency in front of goal had Munich on the back foot right from the opening faceoff. Berlin's Andre Rankel and Florian Busch put Berlin 2-0 in front within the first 8 minutes of play. EHC's captain Martin Buchwieser then scored Munich's first goal to bring the Red Bulls back to within one and despite Munich firing more shots on goal during the opening period, they were the next to concede. Darin Olver restored the home side's two goal lead shortly before the end of the 1st period.
During the 2nd period, Berlin's Laurin Braun returned the three-goal advantage but Munich never gave up fighting and Klaus Kathan eventually scored in the 47th minute with a heavy slapshot from close range during an EHC powerplay to keep Munich in the game at 4-2.
With Munich gaining a bit of momentum, Berlin again scored when it hurt the away side the most. Ten minutes before the end of the game, Julian Talbot made it 5-2, finally breaking Munich's confidence in the process, as well as putting the result beyond any doubt.
EHC manager Christian Winkler did not want to play down Berlin's efficient and convincing game of hockey, but added that "with a full side, we probably could have had a chance today. Berlin played a disciplined and strong game of hockey and even though we threw everything at them, they still outplayed us. Today, we just were not able to compensate for the several key players that we lost to injury during the past few weeks."
EHC's next home game is at Munich's Olympic Ice Stadium and is on Friday November 30th at 19.30 CET against 2nd place Cologne Sharks. Students and interns/apprentices have the opportunity to watch the game for as little as EUR10 (standing).
