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Wolfsburg (AP) - The approaching title decision in the German Ice Hockey League will be historic in any case.
After all, on Wednesday, but no later than Friday (7.30 p.m. / MagentaSport and Sport1), a German champion will be determined for the 100th time.
If the Grizzlys Wolfsburg also win the second playoff final of this special Corona season against the Eisbären Berlin on Wednesday and thus win the title for the first time, this would be remarkable in many ways.
“The last step is the biggest. We want to go it together, ”affirmed Wolfsburg's longtime sports director Charly Fliegauf, who has already been in a final series three times with the Grizzlys and failed three times. The shrewd 60-year-old is also good at the usual banter. «The Berliners have to, we want to win. That's the difference, ”said Fliegauf on Tuesday.
Of course, he is not entirely wrong.
Because the grizzlies would be the biggest surprise championship since the ERC Ingolstadt, which won the title in 2014 as ninth in the preliminary round.
The Grizzlies were only the sixth best team in the league in terms of points in the preliminary round, which was divided into two groups this year.
With 58 points they were third in the weaker group from the north, with a proud 18 points behind the group first from Berlin.
However, the team of ex-national coach Pat Cortina won all previous season games against the favored polar bears, which at least the eighth title beckons.
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Of course, they could only reach him on Friday. Before that, they would have to compensate for the final series with a win on Wednesday. The team around the Olympic silver winner Marcel Noebels, who has just been crowned the best player of the season, has always been tried and tested. "We will all oppose it," said Noebels on Tuesday. "It's far from over."
Both in the quarter-finals against Iserlohn and in the semifinals against Ingolstadt, the Berliners had their backs to the wall after an opening defeat in the short playoff series and still got through. «Every season writes new stories. Ours seems to be about fighting back this time, "said polar bear coach Serge Aubin, who demands looseness from his players:" I want to see the boys with a smile on their faces. There is nothing to lose, absolutely nothing. " This is all the more true for Wolfsburg. "We have a solid, committed force that wants to achieve everything," said Fliegauf.
The title would be particularly remarkable for the grizzly coach.
After his crashing failure as national coach in 2015, Cortina was not considered a future master coach in the DEL.
As General Manager of the national team, Fliegauf also played a key role in the decision not to extend the contract with Cortina.
Nevertheless, he learned to appreciate the Italian-Canadian for his calm manner and his human approach and brought him to Wolfsburg four years later.
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After a crisis a few weeks ago, the 56-year-old got the curve with the Grizzlys again at exactly the right time and also benefited from the unusual format of the greatly shortened season in the playoffs.
Instead of four, only two championship wins are necessary in these playoffs.
For Cortina, the victory on Wednesday would be a very special triumph, after he went down in the history books in 2013 as the first and so far only national coach to be responsible for a failure in an Olympic qualification.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210504-99-464014 / 2
Eisbären Berlin before the second final
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Grizzlies before the second final
DEL playoff tree