Ivo
Jaschick's
Eye on Europe
Reporting from Germany
and
across Europe 2006-07
German
Elite League (DEL) Playoff Preview:
(March 21, 2007)
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| Mannheim Eagles (1) | vs. Frankfurt Lions (8) |
Mannheim Eagles: The Eagles are flying on top of the league. As the only team breaking the 100 point level, they are the big favorite for the championship. Manager Marcus Kuhl & coaches Greg Poss & Teal Fowler did a perfect job when forming a team out of many chiefs. With this background and quality they can give a lot of pressure to the opponent, the Lions.
Frankfurt Lions: The Lions (7) had to beat last year's champion Berlin Polarbears (10) in the pre-play-offs (1-2; 4-3; 6-0). With all the confidence they built from the pre-playoff victory they can make it a hard fought series. The rivalry between the clubs flourishes due to the close proximity of the opponents (the distance between both towns is 50 miles). F Chris Taylor hopefully will produce points in the play offs as frequently as he did in the regular season.
Prediction: Eagles 4 - Lions 0
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| Duesseldorf Metro Stars (2) | vs. Hamburg Freezers (7) |
Metro Stars: Last year's runner up after the regular season is again in that position. In former NHL goalie Jamie Storr, Dusseldorf has the league´s best man between the pipes. They have a lot of dangerous blueliners including former NHLers Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre & Sean Brown. Brown is injured and will miss the first two games. In the attacking zone there's a lot of gun powder (Daniel Kreutzer, Jeff Panzer, Tore Vikingstad ). Coach Don Jackson and GM Lance Nethery know how to form a winning team.
Hamburg Freezers: With a seventh place finish, the Freezers had to play a pre-playoff against the Krefeld Penguins (10) {5-3; 5-3}. After making the playoffs they achieved their basic goal of the season and everything seems to be possible in this series. In the regular season, the Freezers defeated Dusseldorf three times {7-2; 4-5; 2-7; 2-3}. They have a lot power in up front. Brad Smyth & Christoph Brandner (played a few games for the NHL-Wild) scored many goals in the regular season and every Hamburger fan hopes they will continue doing it in the postseason.
Prediction: Metro Stars 4 - Freezers 1
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| Nuremberg (Sinupret) Ice Tigers (3.) | vs. Hanover Scorpions (6.) |
Nuremberg Ice Tigers: Both teams won two games in the regular season but there are two players injured which could prove decisive: D Stefan Schauer (Infection) & F Shawn Carter (Shoulder - end of season). With Canadian Jamie Pollock they have the most productive defenseman in their lineup and F Scott King is second in the club's scorer list.
Hanover Scorpions: Coach Hans Zach beat Nuremberg in the first round last season with his former Cologne Sharks - maybe Zach likes the Ice Tigers, because they're meeting again, with Zach coaching Hanover. The clubs split the regular season series two wins apiece. With no injured players, Hanover seems to be the favorite again. With national player Sasha Goc (brother of SJ Sharks Marcel Goc ) they have the league´s most dangerous blueliner. After their top four scorers there are two forwards and defenders. Maybe this evenness between attackers & defenders will be the difference and will decide the series.
Prediction: Scorpions 4 - Ice Tigers 2
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| Ingolstadt Panthers (4) | vs. Cologne Sharks (5) |
Ingolstadt Panthers: Nine losses out of the last 13 games are not too good for the Panthers' confidence. Coach Ron Kennedy is coming back to the bench after a tumor was diagnosed in his head - maybe it will provide extra drive for the Panthers. With some key players injured (Bjorn Barta , Cameron Mann ) or coming back after injuries (Doug Ast, John Tripp, Florian Keller) they will have difficulties to beat the Cologne Sharks.
Cologne Sharks: The Sharks are the league's third best away team. In ex-NHLer Adam Hauser they have one of the league´s best goalies. The defense is solid as concrete in front of Hauser. The most effective bricks on the blueline are Stephané Julien & Mirko Luedemann. The offence is led by league´s oldie #1 (39 yrs) and top scorer ´06-´07 (21 g;41 a= 62 p) Dave McLlwain . F Slowakian Iwan Ciernik is (maybe) the best technical forward in the league. He only needs a little space to outplay the defenders - he can decide this series.
Prediction: Sharks 4 - Panthers 2
NON-PLAYOFF CLUBS:
After the Berlin Polarbears lost the pre-play-offs to the Lions the old champion (´05 &´06) is dethroned and the contract with their coach Pierre Page is not extended. For Krefeld Penguins (10) also a disappointing year is coming to an end. The Iserlohn Roosters (11), Straubing Tigers (12), Augsburger Panther (13) & Duisburg Foxes (14.) could directly book their vacation. In the first year with coach & former idol Erich Kuehnhackl, the Straubin Tigers were living their dream. "In the first year we had to learn. It´s an other world here in the DEL. Our first goal had been not to be last at the end! - and we did it," icon Kuehnhackl proudly said.
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Copyright 2008 Western Hockey Network
Former NHLer ADAM HAUSER backstops the Cologne Sharks
Former NHLer DAVE MCLLWAIN is the DEL's top scorer and leads the Sharks.
FEB 2007 -- Russian Super League Update
JAN 2007 -- German Elite League (DEL) Update
December 2006 -- Donald Brashear Feature Interview
NOV 8, 2006 -- ISERLOHN ROOSTERS LIKELY HEADED TO FIRST DEL PLAYOFF APPEARANCE
Sept/October 06: DEL Preview / Finland's Jokerit
Photos by Mathias Lehmann
