The championship of the German Young Talent League was held this year, as in all other Young Talent age groups DEBs also, played for the first time in tournament mode. From March 20th to 24th, the six qualified teams met in the Wellblechpalast in Berlin each other. Mannheim and Cologne qualified directly for the tournament as first and second in the main round. The remaining four candidates were determined between places 3-10 in a playoff round (best-of-three). In the end, the Krefeld EV 81 won Eisbären Berlin Juniors, the Düsseldorfer EG and EC Bad Tölz secured their starting place in the final tournament.
Day 1, March 20, 2016: Mannheim and Cologne win opening games
They lived up to their role as favorites Young Eagle Mannheim at 7:3 (1:1/4:1/2:1) against Krefelder EV 81.
There were no scoring opportunities in the early stages, and it was only in the middle of the first third that both teams had a chance to score. The first penalty of the tournament then resulted in the first goal. Mannheim's Maurice Keil scored with a follow-up shot to make it 1-0 for the young eagles. During a strong phase for Mannheim, Krefeld equalized through Peter Balacz-Szabolcs to make it 1-1. The game went into the first third break with this tie.
In the second third, Krefeld was able to increase the score to 1:2 thanks to Tom Schmitz's double majority. Mannheim then increased the tempo and equalized 2-2 two minutes later through Samuel Soramies. Now Mannheim turned up the heat and used three power plays to pull away to 5:2. Calvin Pokorny, Lukas Kälble and Timo Walther scored in the 36th minute for the young eagles to take the score after the second third.
Right at the beginning of the final third, Mannheim extended their lead. Julian Napravnik scored after a break to make it 6:2. The Krefeld team continued to fight and were rewarded by Niklas Lahme's goal to make it 6:3. Less than two minutes later, Mannheim restored the old distance; Once again it was Julian Napravnik who scored the final score of 7:3.
The second game went to a penalty shootout, Cologne defeated them Polar Bear Juniors mit 2:1 (0:0/0:0/1:1).
Both teams started the game energetically, Berlin wanted to take advantage of the home advantage and kept Cologne's defense busy right from the start. However, both teams were unable to capitalize on their chances and the score was 0-0 at the first break.
The middle third also remained goalless, although both teams had their moments of pressure and a few chances.
In the final third both teams had numerous chances, but both Goalies kept their colors in play. It wasn't until the 48th minute of the game that the home team was finally able to celebrate, when Lois Spitzner scored Berlin to the much celebrated 1-0 lead. The game remained intense. Just a minute later, Cologne's Lucas Dumont could only be stopped by a foul, and he converted the penalty to make it 1-1. There were still top-class opportunities on both sides, but a decision could no longer be made.
So it went into overtime. And here too, both teams went at a high tempo and had their opportunities. But as in the previous 60 minutes of play, goals remained in short supply.
So a penalty shootout had to be used as the decision. And here only Cologne's Nico Kolb managed to convert his attempt, which secured Cologne's 2-1 victory and thus two points.
Day 2, March 21, 2016: Lions, eagles and polar bears in the semi-finals
He won smoothly with 6:1 (1:1/3:0/2:0). EC Bad Tölz against the Krefelder EV and thus ensured a preliminary decision in Group A.
Both teams struggled to get chances at the beginning, Tölz had the first but couldn't make anything of it. And so it was Krefeld who scored the first goal of the game with their first chance. Peter Balacz-Sabolcs scored to make it 1-0 for Krefeld. Now the game slowly picked up pace and Tölz was able to equalize. Constantin Ontl made it 1-1 at halftime.
Tölz came out of the locker room better in the second third and used the first power play of the game to take the lead 2-1 by Dominik Kolb. In the next power play five minutes later it was again Constantin Ontl who scored for Tölz to take the lead 3-1. Shortly before the half-time siren, Tölz extended their lead to 4-1, with Dominik Kolb once again scoring the goal.
Not much happened in the final third. Tölz extended his goal lead to 6:1, and in the 48th minute Josef Reiter scored to make it 5:1. Thomas Gauch made the final score 6-1 four minutes before the end.
The Polar Bear Juniors won 5:2 (0:0/2:1/3:1) against them Düsseldorfer EG and are therefore also qualified for the semi-finals. The conditions for this game were clear from the start. The BerlinThey had to win, Düsseldorf only needed a win to reach the semi-finals.
Berlin started the game with a lot of momentum and had a great chance right at the beginning, but it went unused. Düsseldorf then got better and better into the game and also had its chances, but they were unable to score in the first third.
Both teams started more courageously in the second third, but it took until the 32nd minute of the game for a goal to be scored. Düsseldorf took advantage of a double majority in the person of Nicolas Strodel to take a 1-0 lead. Berlin then increased the pressure and was rewarded 4 minutes later, Michael Delueg equalized for the Eisbären to make it 1-1. Two minutes before the break the home team even managed to take a 2-2 lead. Can Matthäs scored the goal for Berlin.
In the last third certain Berlin The game continued, but DEG couldn't build up enough pressure in their counterattacks. The preliminary decision was made 10 minutes before the end, Vincent Hessler increased the score to 3-1 for the Eisbären. Closed the bag Berlin 3 minutes later, Lois Spitzner made it 4-1 with his second goal of the tournament. Shortly afterwards, Daniel Volynec even scored to make it 5-1 Berlin. The DEG tried everything again, but nothing more than the 5:2 goal by Nicolas Geitner 14 seconds before the end of the game came out.
Day 3, March 22, 2016: Tölz group winner, Cologne fourth semi-finalist
He won the first game of the day EC Bad Tölz somewhat surprising against them Young Eagle Mannheim with 4:1 (2:1/2:0/0:0). This game was about winning the group and thus the starting position for the semi-finals on Wednesday. Both teams had already qualified through their wins against Krefeld.
Mannheim got off to a slightly better start. However, when Mannheim received a penalty time after four minutes, the Tölz team struck 1-0 in the person of Constantin Ontl. Three minutes later, another penalty against Mannheim Christoph Kiefersauer hammered the goal into the net to make it 2-0 for Bad Tölz. Mannheim's answer came 24 seconds later, with Sven Schulz reducing the score to 2-1. As the third progressed there weren't many chances to score and so we went into the first break with this result.
Only 55 seconds had been played in the second third when Dominik Kolb made the margin 3-1 for the Tölzer Löwen. The young eagles continued to struggle to find their rhythm against well-fighting Tölzer. When Mannheim was unable to successfully complete a good attack, Constantin Ontl took advantage of the break 105 seconds before the break with a goal to make it 4-1.
Mannheim tried to get back into the game in the final third. But there weren't many more chances and the final score remained 4-1.
Tölz is the group winner, Mannheim moves into the semi-finals in second place.
The second duel of the day was decided by him Cologne EC against the Düsseldorfer EG with 5:1 (2:1/2:0/1:0) and were the last team to qualify for the semi-finals. The requirements for both teams were clear. DEG had to win in regular time to advance to the semi-finals; One point was enough for Cologne to reach the semi-finals and two to win the group.
The Cologne team started the game courageously and created numerous chances. In the third minute, Max Pietschmann was able to give Cologne a deserved 1-0 lead. After that the game slowed down a bit. Both teams kept the tempo high, but there were no really dangerous situations. Just under two minutes before the end of the third, Cologne's Robin Palka was able to extend Cologne's lead to 2-0. We went into the first break with this two-goal lead.
The team from Düsseldorf came out of the locker room a little better and put the Haie under a lot of pressure, but they couldn't score a goal. Cologne used one of their dangerous counterattacks in the 31st minute to make a small preliminary decision. Tim Lorenz made it 3-0. The DEG didn't let themselves down even after this new setback, but the Cologne team now dominated the game again. In the 38th minute of the game, Robin Schütz scored after a break to make it 4-0 for Cologne and ensured the decision. 17 seconds before the end of the period, DEG was able to reduce the result to 4:1, Nicolas Strodel scored the celebrated 4:1 goal.
The final third was characterized by a tough fight and many penalty times. Düsseldorf tried to get close again, but the goal fell on the other side. Nico Kolb was the Cologne goalscorer for the final score of 5:1. Cologne was the last team to reach the semi-finals.
Day 4, March 23, 2016: Eisbären Juniors and Jungadler Mannheim in the final
In the first semi-final they sat down Polar Bear Juniors against the EC Bad Tölz with 2:1 (1:0/0:0/0:1/1:0) after extra time.
Both teams immediately tried to put their stamp on the game and set a high pace from the start. In the 16th minute, Charlie Jahnke brought it on Berlinhe took a 1-0 lead from the blue line. With this narrow lead for the Juniors we went into the first break.
The second third continued at the same pace. And although both teams produced top-class chances, it remained 2-1 for the Eisbären after the second third.
The juniors began the last third with a man down, but the Tölzers were unable to capitalize on that either. The Tölzers were now slowly but surely running out of time and were fighting doggedly for every puck. The redeeming equalizer for the Tölzers came one minute before the end of the third, when Tobias Kirchhofer's shot was deflected and found its way into the goal.
So the decision should be made in overtime. And it was Leon Gawanke who saved the juniors with a shot from the blue line to make the final score 2-1.
The final opponent for the Berlinhe was in the game Cologne EC vs. Young Eagle Mannheim played out. The young eagles were able to make it to the final with a 3:1 (0:1/0:1/1:1) win.
The second game was equally strong, with both teams wanting to put pressure on their opponents from the start. Mannheim got off to a better start when Maurice Keil scored 138-1 after 0 seconds. Mannheim was also the team that dominated the game afterwards, the Cologne team tried with isolated attacks, but were not really dangerous in front of the Mannheim goal guarded by Felix Köllejan. And so the score remained 0-1 from Cologne's perspective until the break.
The same picture emerged in the second half, with Cologne getting into the game a little better thanks to Mannheim's penalties. However, since the Mannheim team defended skillfully, the young sharks were unable to take advantage of it. But the Mannheimers also left unused opportunities for superiority as the game progressed. It took until the 36th minute of the game before the Mannheim team was able to increase the lead to 2-0 again thanks to Maurice Keil. That was also the score after the second third.
It took until the 47th minute in the final third before Cologne was able to reduce the gap and make the game exciting again with a 2-1 win. Mike Glemser finished with a follow-up shot. After that it went back and forth until a minute before the end when Cologne took out their goalie. Mannheim took advantage of their chance and scored an empty net goal through Julian Napravnik to make the final score 1:3.
Day 5, March 24, 2016: Young eagles become champions
1280 spectators saw a high-class game that was exciting right to the end at the 2016 DNL final Young Eagle Mannheim won against them Polar Bear Juniors mit 5:3 (1:0/1:2/3:1).
The first few minutes belonged to the young eagles, but after seven minutes the polar bears also got into the game. However, no goal was scored in the early stages. It took until the 15th minute before either team was able to capitalize on its chances. The eagles took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Julian Napravnik on the rebound. It was a lucky goal at the time, but not undeserved, as the young eagles were the more active team in the first third. The team went into the first break with this result.
The Eisbären did more in the second third than in the first 20 minutes and equalized with the majority. Charlie Jahnke scored the goal to make it 1-1. It was now a game of equals, with both sides taking turns. A bad pass then gave the home team the lead. Ole Oleff made sure of that with a shot into the near corner Berlinhe 1:2 lead. But the response from Mannheim was not long in coming. Luca Glasses scored with a margin shot to make it 2-2. With this result of 2:2 we went into the second break.
So in the last third it basically started from scratch again. And again Mannheim was able to take the lead first. Valentin Kopp appeared Berlins goalkeeper Lucas Hofmann was free to shoot and brought the disc over the goal line (43'). Seven minutes later it was Raphael Grünholz who equalized for the Eisbären Juniors with a powerful shot from the blue line (50th). What followed was pure tension. Both teams continued to play at a very high tempo and created opportunities every 30 seconds. Then it was a solo effort from Julian Napravnik that went through everyone Berlinhe marched and gave Mannheim the lead again with 13,6 seconds to go. A break from the BerlinHe and the removal of Lucas Hofmann didn't achieve anything. On the contrary, after the Eisbären lost a target and a foul on Mannheim's Samuel Soramies, the young eagles were even awarded a technical goal six seconds before the end to make the final score 5:3.
The numerous spectators who made their way into the stadium over the four days BerlinThe spectators who had found their way to the corrugated iron palace saw intense, exciting and fair games that culminated in a final from which Mannheim emerged as worthy champions. All teams contributed to promoting the sport of ice hockey with this tournament.
You can find all the results of the tournament here.