Thursday, 17. July 2025 |
Meeting of the record champions Red Bulls challenge Eisbären Berlin// CHLIt's been three years since the Red Bulls last played the Eisbären Berlin. Back then it was only in preparation. Now the German and Austrian champions meet again in the European premier league. With the Eisbären Berlin, the Red Bulls face an opponent in the regular season of the CHL that has been the measure of all things in the PENNY DEL in recent years. Three championship titles in four years speak for themselves. Only in the 2022/23 season did the Polar Bears suffer a setback, finishing eleventh in the main round and even missing out on the playoffs.
With their latest run of victories, the Berliners also underlined their No. 1 position in the DEL, where they have won eleven titles since the league was founded in 1994, making them the record champions of the German top league. The duel against the Red Bulls will be the summit meeting of the two record champions, as the Red Bulls also lead this ranking in the win2day ICE Hockey League with 10 titles. However, the Eisbären Berlin, founded in 1954, have already celebrated a total of 26 German championship titles.
Incidentally, the Red Bulls narrowly won the last encounter. In a test match on August 20, 2022, they won 1:0 in extra time at the Eisarena Salzburg. Goalscorer: Mario Huber.
Ambitions in the premier class
In the Champions Hockey League, the Berliners are still waiting for their breakthrough, if you will. The Eisbären have played a total of seven seasons in the top flight and reached the round of 16 in 2016 and 2017. This was followed by three appearances without play-offs. But it was in the final season of 2024/25 that the German champions reached the quarter-finals for the first time, where they were stopped by the eventual CHL champions, the ZSC Lions. Both defeats ended with just a one-goal difference.
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Red Bulls vs. Eisbären Berlin | 22.8.2022
Former Vienna Capitals coach sets the tone
There was little movement in the strong Berlin squad in the summer, which meant that the majority of the top scorers could be retained. First and foremost the Canadian Ty Ronning, who finished his second season with the Germans as the DEL's top scorer with no less than 48 goals (61 Sp | 48 T | 50 A). The second-best DEL scorer also comes from Berlin with the German assist king Leo Pföderl (65 Sp | 34 T | 55 A). Together with Liam Kirk (GBR | 4th) and Frederik Tiffels (GER | 6th), the Eisbären had four players in the top six of the last DEL season.
The Eisbären have been led to success in recent years by Serge Aubin. The 50-year-old Canadian has been head coach in the German capital since 2019 and is responsible for the last three championship titles. The Canadian has also already left his mark in Austria. From 2016 to 2018, Aubin was Head Coach at the Vienna Capitals and also celebrated the win2day ICE Hockey League title with them in 2017.
New additions to the Berlin squad include German forward Andreas Eder, who trained at the Red Bull Ice Hockey Academy between 2014 and 2016. The now 29-year-old then also played for Red Bull Munich (2016-2019 and 2022-2025) before moving to the German capital for the first time.
Salzburg's Head Coach Manny Viveiros
"Berlin was a top team in the DEL throughout the season, so it was no surprise that they won the championship in Germany. This will be a really good test as both teams will have time to find their game and structure before we meet in October. We're looking forward to the challenge."
Eisbären Berlin | Factbox
Founded: 1954
League: PENNY DEL
Stadium: Uber Arena | 17,000 spectators
Season 2024/25: DEL Champion
Successes: 11-time DEL Champion, 26-time German Champion
CHL 2024/25: Quarter-finals
WEB: eisbaeren.de
CHL | Regular Season of the Red Bulls
Fri, 29.08.25 | 20:20 | Red Bull Salzburg - GKS Tychy
Sun, 31.08.25 | 17:30 | Red Bull Salzburg - Pinguins Bremerhaven
Thu, 04.09.25 | 17:30* | Ilves Tampere - Red Bull Salzburg
Sat, 06.09.25 | 16:00* | KalPa Kuopio - Red Bull Salzburg
Wed, 08.10.25 | 19:00 | Odense Bulldogs - Red Bull Salzburg
Wed, 15.10.25 | 20:20 | Red Bull Salzburg - Eisbären Berlin
* Start times in CEST
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