DEL Preview, 52. matchday: Red Bull München visits the Straubing Tigers

Thursday, 06. March 2025 | DEL Preview, 52. matchday: Red Bull München visits the Straubing Tigers

Straubing hosts Red Bulls in the final game of the regular season// DEL - PREVIEWOn the 52. and final matchday of the current DEL season, the Red Bulls face another derby. On Friday evening, we play the Straubing Tigers at 7:30 pm and fight for home field advantage in the playoffs.

As always, you can follow the game against the team from Lower Bavaria live on MagentaSport, Sportdeutschland.TV or on our blog.

It is now clear that EHC Red Bull München will face Adler Mannheim in the playoff quarterfinals. However, it is not yet clear whether we will have to travel to the Kurpfalz region for game one or whether we will start with a home game in the SAP Garden.

In other words, we still have to play for home-field advantage at the Straubinger Pulverturm. If we get three points in the derby and Mannheim suffer a clean defeat against the Eisbären Berlin, we would certainly jump to fourth place. If Mannheim gets a point, we would need a win with a nine-goal difference due to our weaker goal difference.

Highlights: EHC Red Bull München vs. Straubing Tigers (10.12.2024)

// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS

In either case, the team of coach Don Jackson would open the quarter-finals at home on March 16. If we finish fifth, the first game will be at the same time at the Adler Mannheim. Game two would then be on March 19 in München.

DeSousa still banned for three more games

. So, in the game against the Tigers, our main focus is on doing our own homework. But a derby win would be a great way to end the regular season, after which we can start preparing for the “coolest” time of the year.

The record against Straubing this season is positive. managed a 3-1 home win in mid-December, before the team from Lower Bavaria beat the team from the Bavarian capital 5-2. But the Red Bulls triumphed 6-2 at the Pulverturm on matchday 4, with Chris DeSousa scoring a hat-trick. Unfortunately, we can't count on our forward this time, as he's still serving a three-game suspension.

Woodcroft follows successful coach Pokel

There is also something at stake in Straubing on Friday in terms of the table, namely seventh or eighth place. The Tigers will not be able to repeat their strong third place in the table after the main round last year. In any case, the season was rather mixed. Perhaps also because the team was also in action in the Champions League and at the Spengler Cup 2024. So the workload this year was unusually high.

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The next derby against the Tigers in the SAP Garden in pictures

On February 4, the decision was made to release their long-standing successful coach Tom Pokel. His successor was Craig Woodcroft, the Canadian has so far led Straubing to five wins in nine games. On Tuesday, they suffered a 5-2 defeat away at the Grizzlys Wolfsburg.

Pulverturm no longer a fortress

It is noticeable that the usual home strength of recent years has been lost. While the Tigers were regularly among the top teams in the league at home, they are only tenth in their home record this season. However, the last four games in their own living room have been won.

Joshua Samanski is the top scorer, with 14 goals and 25 assists, making him one of the top German forwards in the PENNY DEL. Michael Connolly (30 points) and defender Marcel Brandt (eleven goals, 36 points) are also once again among the assets for Straubing.

DEL record against Straubing

Wins: 39 Losses: 25 Win percentage: 61 Goal difference: 201:166 Last game: RBM vs. STR 3:1 Last ten games: W L W L L L W W L W Last ten away games: W W W W W W L L L W