The Eisbären Juniors Berlin won the championship in the German Young Talent League (DNL) for the first time on Sunday afternoon in Cologne. The U20 juniors of the capital city defeated the Kölner Junghaie In front of 500 spectators in the sold-out Kölnarena 2 with a 3-2 win in the third game of the playoff final series. Previously they had BerlinHe won game 1 in his home corrugated iron palace 4:3 nV. Game 2 on Saturday went to the KEC 5-3.
The cathedral city team went into the playoffs as the main round champions as slight favorites and had eliminated series winners Jungadler Mannheim in the semifinals in two games (3:0, 3:0). Berlin prevailed in the pre-playoffs against Augsburg (7:0, 1:2, 5:3) and in the semifinals against Kaufbeuren (4:3 nV, 4:3).
Was the top scorer in the playoffs Berlins Kevin Glove. He scored a total of eight goals and five assists, the most of any player. His last goal of the season was also the one that decided the championship. The second best scorer was Pascal Steck from Cologne with eleven points (3 goals, 8 assists). In the main round, Veit Oswald from Landshut (28 T, 23 V) and Justin Van Der Ven from Cologne (20 T, 31 V) shared the top scorer crown with 51 points.
In the past two years, no DNL champion could be crowned due to the pandemic. Before that, the Jungadler Mannheim had secured the title from 2011 to 2019. The Cologne team has won the championship exactly once, in the 2006/07 season, in eight final appearances. BerlinThey reached the playoff finals four times, but until yesterday had never won the championship title. The Eisbären won their last U20 championship title in the Junior Bundesliga in 1995. Since the DNL was founded in 2000, Mannheim have only failed to become champions three times.
Votes for the final
Master Coach Jochen Molling, Eisbären Juniors Berlin: “I’m just happy for the boys that they were able to have their first experience in the playoffs and were simply rewarded.”
Patrick Strauch, head coach Kölner Junghaie: "The boys have developed well over the course of the season. Those were three good final games. That's the level you need throughout the whole season."
Kevin Glove, winning goal scorer Eisbären Juniors Berlin: “It wasn't just my goal, it was the goal for the team. I'm just glad it happened..."
Daniel Visner, Captain Eisbären Juniors Berlin: "Our team was indescribable, all season long. We played as a team, that was the factor today."
Mannheim becomes U15 champion
The Jungadler Mannheim won the championship title in the U15 age group without losing a point at the final tournament in Rosenheim. The team from the square city thus emulated the U17 Jungadler, who won the championship title last weekend.
The host team won the silver medal Starbulls Rosenheim with nine points and a better goal difference than the third-placed team EHC 80 Nürnberg. Düsseldorfer EG came fourth, the Eisbären Juniors fifth and the Schwenninger ERC sixth.
