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Wolfsburg / Berlin (dpa) - With their backs to the gang, the Eisbären Berlin apparently feel particularly comfortable.
Three times the title favorite in these playoffs for the German ice hockey championship was only one defeat away from a knockout.
But also on Wednesday evening in the second final game at the Grizzlys Wolfsburg, the polar bears freed themselves impressively from this pressure situation.
4: 1 (1: 0, 2: 1, 1: 0) it was said after a convincing performance "in Berlin style" (coach Serge Aubin).
The championship will now be decided in a third and final game on Friday (7.30 p.m. / MagentaSport) in the capital.
"We showed again today that we have a strong character," said Aubin.
His team lost their first game in the quarter-finals against Iserlohn and in the semi-finals against Ingolstadt and still won the series in the end.
"I want my players to remember this feeling," said the Canadian.
“It's far from over.
There is still a lot of work to be done.
But I have no doubt that we will be ready. "
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After the very one-sided affair in Wolfsburg, there is now a lot to speak for the Berliners on Friday evening.
It was clear beforehand that they had the better squad.
But just three days after their 2: 3 opening defeat after extra time, they looked fresher this time and, above all, more nervous.
In any case, they coped with the pressure of having to win much better than the grizzlies with the knowledge that they already had "a paw on the cup" (Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung) and were only one victory away from the first championship title in club history.
"The possibility of becoming champions may have been difficult for us," admitted Wolfsburg coach Pat Cortina.
With the Berliners, on the other hand, Aubin “had the feeling from the start that we were relaxed.
The mood was good.
We were aggressive, we were hungry. "
The 46-year-old had told his players after the first game that they were not a defeat from a big disappointment, but "two games from winning the championship".
That had an effect, the self-confidence is great.
"We'll get the title in the next game," said Lukas Reichel, who scored 4-1 into the empty goal in the 59th minute.
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The fact that only one victory in the championship is missing still applies to the Wolfsburg team.
«We just have to be more uncompromising.
Just like we did very well in the first game, »said Gerrit Fauser.
"If we can do that again - and I'm sure we will - then we definitely give ourselves a good chance that we can pull the game."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210506-99-485450 / 2