DEL preview, matchday 51: EHC Red Bull München visits ERC Ingolstadt

Monday, 03. March 2025 | DEL preview, matchday 51: EHC Red Bull München visits ERC Ingolstadt

Derby on the penultimate matchday: Red Bulls visit main round winners Ingolstadt // DEL - PREVIEWCrunch time in the PENNY DEL! On Tuesday at 7:30 pm, the Red Bulls will play their penultimate game of the 2024/25 main round at ERC Ingolstadt. You can watch the derby live on MagentaSport, Sportdeutschland.TV or on our blog.

After Sunday's 2:0 win against Mannheim, our boys are going into the final sprint with a tailwind. We are currently in fourth place in the table with 88 points - one point ahead of Mannheim and three behind Bremerhaven. We have to defend our right to play at home in the playoff quarter-finals in the two remaining games.

Highlights: EHC Red Bull München vs. Adler Mannheim (02/03/2025)

// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS

"The table is very tight. We can only influence our games and want to put ourselves in the best possible starting position. The focus is now clearly on Ingolstadt on Tuesday," said Munich's Ben Smith at the press conference after the Mannheim game.

Pressekonferenz: EHC Red Bull München vs. Adler Mannheim (02.03.2025)

// DEL - INTERVIEW

Historic season for the Panthers

Our opponents from Ingolstadt have already secured victory in the main round and thus pole position for the playoffs. Coach Mark French led the Panthers to the best main round in their DEL history. Their previous best from the 2022-23 season (103 points in 56 games at the time) was pulverized after just 50 matchdays with 110 points. For the first time, the ERC averaged more than two points per game. Ingolstadt has hardly shown any weaknesses so far and has only lost more than one game in a row once this season (three defeats at the end of October). The Panthers have the second-best offense and the second-best defense. The special teams have not played a role so far. Both the over and under game are mediocre.

New goalkeeper for the big goal

Even the absence of regular number one Michael Garteig (missing since mid-December) has not resulted in a drop in performance, as his replacement Devin Williams has shown consistently strong performances. Nevertheless, the ERC recently added Christian Heljanko to its goalkeeping team. The Finn led Tappara Tampere to three national championship titles and a Champions League win. He impressed in his five appearances for Ingolstadt (save percentage: 92.7 percent).

Highlights: ERC Ingolstadt vs. EHC Red Bull München (26.12.2024)

// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS

A defender as top scorer

There are not many clubs where the top scorer is a defenseman. ERC Ingolstadt is one of them. Alex Breton tops the internal list with 47 points and is also the second-best points scorer of all DEL defenders this season. The most prolific Panther is Austen Keating (23 goals this season), and the Canadian also got on the scoresheet in Sunday's game in Frankfurt. However, his goal to make it 1:0 in the meantime was not enough for points, as Ingolstadt were beaten 3:2 in the end. We have also already beaten the league leaders once. Our boys won the first match of the season 5:1. However, the Panthers prevailed in the following two duels - most recently 3:2 after a penalty shoot-out in their own arena. On Tuesday, we want to draw level in the season's standings at the same venue and secure more points for home ice in the playoffs. "If we win both games, we'll have done our homework," emphasized Smith.

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The derby against Ingolstadt in pictures

DEL record against ERC Ingolstadt

Wins: 38 Losses: 28 Winning percentage: 58 percent Goal difference: 215:177 Last game: ING vs RBM 3:2 n. p. Last ten games: N S S N N N S S N N Last ten away games: N S S S S S S N N N