Course of the game
Munich picked up two penalties in the opening minutes. Coach Toni Söderholm's team defended strongly against the Penguins' first power play, but the second overtime situation was then used by the first-round winners from the north to take a 1:0 lead. Mathias Niederberger had no chance against Jan Urbas' hammer (6th). Bremerhaven continued confidently before the German champions got into the game better and better. Markus Eisenschmid (11) had the first of several chances to equalize, but Kristers Gudlevskis was not to be beaten in the first period. The home side went into the break with a narrow lead.
Bremerhaven extended this lead in the middle period. Markus Vikingstad increased the lead to 2:0 (22') before Dominik Uher even added the third goal (28'). Niederberger prevented another goal a little later against Vladimir Eminger (31). The Red Bulls then stepped up the pace. As a result, Trevor Parkes (35) and Yasin Ehliz (37) scored top chances, but Gudlevskis kept his goal clean in the second period.
Munich started the third 20 minutes with a powerplay, but Bremerhaven continued to concede little - until the 49th minute. Ben Smith scored twice within a few seconds of the visitors' first goal. When the Red Bulls increased their risk, the Penguins had opportunities to counterattack. However, the score did not change - not even when the Red Bulls piled on the pressure in the final phase with the extra skater.