DEL preview: EHC Red Bull Munich welcomes Straubing at Christmas

Monday, 25. December 2023 | DEL preview: EHC Red Bull Munich welcomes Straubing at Christmas

Derby treat for Christmas: Red Bulls welcome Straubing// DEL - PRELIMINARY REPORTOn Boxing Day, EHC Red Bull Munich will host the Straubing Tigers (Tuesday | 3:15 pm | Live on MagentaSport and in our blog). The derby is also an absolute top game.

Our boys go into the 31st matchday of the PENNY DEL in fourth place in the table, while Straubing have picked up two more points over the course of the season and are third. That means: with a three-pointer, we'll overtake our rivals from Lower Bavaria. That is the goal.

Extend home streak

After two narrow defeats at the Pulverturm (2:4 and 1:2), we want to get our first win against the Tigers in the third duel of the season. The form is right: The 3-2 win against the Iserlohn Roosters the day before Christmas Eve was our fifth home win in a row. Coach Toni Söderholm was satisfied: "Over the course of the year, it's important to be able to win close games in 60 minutes."

Highlights: Red Bull München vs. Iserlohn Roosters (23.12.2023)

// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS

DeSousa's "beautiful winning mentality"

Even against Straubing, little things could make the difference. In these games, players like Chris DeSousa make the difference. The Canadian scored his eleventh goal of the DEL season against Iserlohn. That makes him our top goal scorer. "Chris has a very nice winning mentality. He doesn't shy away from a duel," Söderholm praises his forward.

After an injury and the birth of his first child, DeSousa needed some time to regularly reward his stable performances with scoring points. Now he has the full focus to play big. "Chris needs a clear head," says Söderholm. He continues: "Now he's creating more chances again. He helps us a lot." However, DeSousa is yet to score against Straubing this season.

Miska and Bugl having strong seasons

Our goal scorer isn't the only player who has cut his teeth on the Tigers' defense. Coach Tom Pokel's team has conceded very little and has only conceded 64 goals - only leaders Bremerhaven have conceded fewer (63).

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The second derby at the Pulverturm in pictures

Goalkeepers Hunter Miska and Florian Bugl have played a big part in this. The duo boasts the best combined save percentage in the league. Miska played in the two duels against us. He saved a strong 94.2 percent of the shots on his box.

Straubing goal drought

Nicolas Mattinen is also a great support. The 25-year-old Canadian has already scored twelve goals this season. With 31 goals, he is the league's top-scoring defenseman. Mattinen has also hurt us in head-to-head duels (one goal, one assist).

Despite their quality, Straubing have only scored against Schwenningen (6:3) in the last four matchdays. They have suffered three defeats away from home in this period. The Tigers failed to score a goal. Their most recent defeat was a 1-0 loss in Ingolstadt on the day before Christmas Eve.

Frohe Weihnachten! So feiern Coach und Spieler Heiligabend

// INTERVIEW

DEL record against Straubing

Wins: 36 Defeats: 23 Winning percentage: 61 percent Goal difference: 182:150 Last game: STR vs. RBM: 2:1 Last ten games: S N S S S S N S N N Last ten home games: S S S S N S S S S N S S