Olympia Eissportzentrum, March 4th - EHC Munich went up against the Berlin Polar Bears in their second-to-last home game of the regular season. This game might determine Munich's chances of getting into the playoffs, which is why the loss is that much more disappointing. Munich had absolutely no luck tonight in a 2-4 loss to Berlin. "It's a disappointing loss especially at this stage in the season," said Coach Pat Cortina.
The game started out like many before. The away team's Mads Christensen scored the first goal, thus dealing a crushing blow to EHC's confidence. The home team could not manage to put points on the board until after the second period, when they were down 2-0, from a goal from Berlin's André Rankel. The confidence booster would come from a beautiful pass from David Cespiva and Martin Buchwieser to Ulrich Maurer, who would score the only goal of the second period making it 1-2. Unfortunately time ran out in the second period and so did Munich's luck.
"If we don't believe, a difficult situation becomes that much more difficult, we make it easier for ourselves if we believe. If you don't believe, it means you have started to quit and if you start to quit, you will never win," said Cortina, regarding the mindset going into the upcoming game against Iserlohn. Munich needs to win their last two games of the season for them to even have a chance of making the pre-playoffs.
EHC are back in action on Friday as they play against the Iserlohn Roosters on the road. Face-off is at 19:30. Munich is back home on Sunday March 11th against the Hamburg Freezers. Face-off is at 14:30.
Gabriel Nounna is a sports reporter and columnist for The Munich Eye. Email him at Gabriel.Nounna@themunicheye.com and follow him on Twitter @gabe_TMT_sports
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