Hopeful David Wolf should the Adler Mannheim before the impending playoff knockout. maintain. The national striker is urgently needed on Monday (4.30 p.m. / MagentaSport) in the sixth of seven possible semi-final matches against ERC Ingolstadt. “We have to start scoring goals again,” said coach Bill Stewart.
Wolf served his three-game ban on Monday and is ready to play against Ingolstadt. Without the 33-year-old, Mannheim have now scored three times in the past three games. On Saturday there was a 1:4 in Ingolstadt. “We don’t score enough goals,” confirmed defender Fabrizio Pilu. “We don’t have enough men in front of goal to score a dirty goal,” added striker Stefan Loibl.
In addition to the return of Wolf, the Palatinate are hoping for a reaction after the first away defeat in the playoffs this season. After three successes in Cologne and two in Ingolstadt, the Stewart team conceded their first bankruptcy in a foreign hall in their fifth encounter with their opponents in the semifinals. “Now we have to get even closer as a team to force game seven,” stressed Pilu.
So far, however, the Adler have not been strong at home. There was one win and two defeats in the SAP Arena against Cologne, and the Mannheimers have lost twice to semi-final opponents Ingolstadt. Another failure – and the dream of a ninth championship title is over this season. “We will analyze the defeat and then go into the next game well prepared,” announced Loibl.
In the second semi-final, title favorite EHC Red Bull Munich has the first chance to end the series against the Grizzlies Wolfsburg on Monday (3:15 p.m. / MagentaSport). After the 3:2 after extra time against Lower Saxony, coach Don Jackson’s team only needs one win to reach the final. “Now it’s in our hands,” said veteran EHC coach Don Jackson.
