DFEL record champions ESC Planegg and the Eisbären Juniors Berlin are fighting for the first championship title in German ice hockey since the outbreak of the corona pandemic. The two teams prevailed in their respective semi-finals on the first day of the Final Four tournament of the Women's Bundesliga (DFEL) and will meet in the final on Sunday from 15 p.m. in Füssen. The duel for third place will be contested by the first in the main round starting at 11 a.m ERC Ingolstadt and the ECDC Memmingen Indians. Both games are live and free www.thefan.fm/live be visible.
The Eisbärinnen surprisingly outplayed the clear favorites from Ingolstadt 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0) in the first game on Saturday. The American Theresa Knutson (22nd, 51st) scored both goals for the team from the capital, while national player Tanja Eisenschmid (31st) was successful for the best team in the DFEL main round. Planegg, second in the main round, then won against Memmingen 3:2 (0:0, 1:1, 2:1). National player Julia Zorn (25th) scored for Planegg before Janina Fuchs (35th) and Justine Reyes (36th) scored the decisive goals. The goals for Memmingen were scored by Savannah Rennie (28th) to equalize and Lena Schurr (45th).
The Final Four tournament marks the end of a season that went almost smoothly despite the corona-related restrictions. There were very few game postponements. After the end of the Women's Bundesliga season, the German national players are looking towards the World Cup in Canada (May 6 to 16), and the first phase of preparation for the German Ice Hockey Federation's selection starts on March 22.
DEB-President Franz Reindl: “The women's Bundesliga has continued to improve, making the game much more attractive and better. That has brought the sport forward. Our conclusion is already positive for the season; everyone involved has put in an incredible amount of effort. We are thrilled with how disciplined the work was.”
Tanja Eisenschmid (captain ERC Ingolstadt): “It wasn’t our day. We didn't play our game, we looked for the difficult passes instead of the easy ones. Things went well for a while after the equalizer, but then we were just on the ice too long before conceding the goal.”
Anna-Maria Nickisch (captain Eisbären Juniors Berlin): "I have to say, I'm still speechless. Nobody expected it, we were the complete underdog. We had nothing to lose and were ready from the start. It was the perfect time to beat Ingolstadt and we did it. I'm just overjoyed, everyone did a great job. We gave it our all and threw ourselves into every shot."
Monika Pink (captain ESC Planegg): “It was an exciting and exciting game. We expected it just as much, that both teams would have to fight for every goal, for every centimeter. The happy ending was on our side. We are really looking forward to the final, it will be a game that you can't predict. Berlin has a few new players with us, it will definitely be exciting again.”
Daria Gleißner (captain ECDC Memmingen Indians): “It was a very good, very fast and very physical game. It was a real fight, we all really wanted it, but it wasn't enough. We had a lot of shots, especially in the first third. We wanted to be first, it’s a shame, that’s the way sport is, you can’t change that.”
All photos: Dominic Pencz