Next weekend (March 13th and 14th) the championship title of the Women's Bundesliga (DFEL) will be played in a Final Four tournament in Füssen. After all the main round games were played without any major complications, the season is about to reach its climax with the fight for the championship. League leader Markus Schubert: “All players, coaches and everyone involved handled the entire situation very responsibly.”
The four best teams in the DFEL main round qualified for the final tournament: the Eisbären Juniors Berlin, the ECDC Memmingen Indians, the ESC Planegg and the ERC Ingolstadt. The tournament is played in a knockout system: in the semi-finals, the first-placed team will face the fourth-placed team and the second-placed team will face the third-placed team. In preparation for the tournament, deb-online.de takes a look at the participants. How did the season go for the team? Who are the key players? And what does U18 women's national coach Franziska Busch think of the respective teams?
The overview of the four teams begins with the women from the capital, the fourth-placed ones Eisbären Juniors Berlin.
Balanced and team-like
Underdog with the potential for a surprise coup: The Eisbären Juniors Berlin They are the big outsiders in the Final Four tournament of the women's Bundesliga - but they should also underestimate them ERC Ingolstadt better not. “We had a good team spirit and that’s why we had a good season all in all,” says national player Emily Nix, who recently scored two goals for them DEB-Selection at the international matches in Switzerland was successful. U18 women’s national coach Franziska Busch confirms: “Berlin has a young, balanced team and comes through its team unity.”
On Saturday, head coach Daniel Bartell's team wants to make life just as difficult for the main round winner from the Danube city as it did during the season. The Eisbären were not only a test for Ingolstadt, but also repeatedly caused surprises against the other top teams. There were victories against both the Memmingen Indians and ESC Planegg. That the BerlinYou won't get your ticket to the final tournament until the last weekend in February in the direct duels against the Mad Dogs Mannheim was, for example, due to point losses against the EC Bergkamener Bären. “The first decisive game against Mannheim was really close. “The joy was even greater when we secured our place in the final tournament,” emphasized Emily Nix.
In addition to Nix, 21-year-old captain Anna-Maria Nickisch leads the very young team, which will arrive in Füssen without two players. The very experienced Nina Kamenik, who was also a long-time national player, has been missing from the attack since mid-January due to an injury and in the already sparse defense, Korinna Fiedler is not yet fit enough for training and games due to the after-effects of a corona illness. Therefore, top scorer Steph Keryluk (15 goals, 11 assists) from the USA is even more in demand. But DFEL rookie and new national player Annabella Sterzik could also be an ace up her sleeve despite being only 17 years old. In the main round she demonstrated her goal instincts with an astonishing twelve goals in 18 games.
In early February, the American Theresa Knutson also came to the capital to provide further reinforcement in the attack. The former Mannheim player returned to Germany after the season in the North American National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was cancelled and brings a lot of experience with her. "The bottom line is that we have three balanced lines," explains Emily Nix, who has been playing between her hometown and the German capital since last season, together with her sister Paula. Hamburg and Berlin commutes regularly.
The goalkeeper team around Lilly Günther and Carolin Walz also play a very important role. The two regularly took turns in the main round. Without a clear number one, it is unclear who will play in the final tournament.
Assessment by U-18 women’s national coach Franziska Busch: "Berlin fought a hot battle for fourth place against Mannheim. The girls have nothing to lose and were able to steal points from the top clubs in the main round. The polar bears could be a fearful opponent and possibly surprise.”
All games are live, free of charge and in full length in the live stream www.thefan.fm/live to be followed. Under www.gamepitch.de/deb/frauen/frauen-bundesliga/ there is information and statistics about the women's Bundesliga.
The games are scheduled as follows:
Saturday, March 13, 2021:
15:00 p.m. / ERC Ingolstadt - Eisbären Juniors Berlin
19:00 p.m. / ESC Planegg – ECDC Memmingen
Sunday March 14, 2021:
11:00 a.m. / Game for 3rd place
15:00 p.m. / Final