Eisbären Berlin Secure Third Consecutive DEL Final Berth After Eliminating Kölner Haie

Eisbären Berlin defeated Kölner Haie 4:1 on Monday to win their semi-final series 4:2, advancing to the DEL final for the third consecutive time. Coach Serge Aubin's side, finishing sixth in the regular season, eliminated the regular-season champions with goals from Jonas Müller, Frederik Tiffels, Yannick Veilleux, and Markus Vikingstad. The Berliners will face Adler Mannheim in the final series, which begins on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 19:30 in Mannheim. Kölner Haie, who had topped the regular season standings, have now gone 24 years without their ninth championship title.

Stettmer steps up as Hildebrand sits out injured The match unfolded under difficult circumstances for Berlin, who entered game six without their starting goalkeeper Jake Hildebrand, ruled out for the remainder of the season with a leg injury sustained in game four. Jonas Stettmer took his place and delivered what Der Tagesspiegel described as one of the best performances in an Eisbären jersey, matching Cologne netminder Janne Juvonen — the DEL's regular-season best player — save for save throughout the contest. Berlin struck early, with defenseman Jonas Müller scoring in the seventh minute and Cologne-born forward Frederik Tiffels adding a second in the tenth, putting the visitors in control before the first period was ten minutes old. Parker Tuomie pulled one back for Cologne in the 16th minute, keeping the hosts in contention and generating sustained pressure through the middle period. Both teams squandered five-on-three power play opportunities, and the two goalkeepers repeatedly denied clear chances, keeping the score at 1:2 heading into the final period. When Cologne coach Kari Jalonen pulled Juvonen for an extra skater in the closing minutes, Yannick Veilleux and Markus Vikingstad sealed the result with empty-net goals in the 59th and 60th minutes respectively.

„We did not achieve our goals. Of course, we wanted to have more success in the playoffs.” — Parker Tuomie via Der Tagesspiegel

Arena bookings cost Cologne the home-ice edge Tuomie pointed to a structural scheduling disadvantage as a significant factor in Cologne's elimination. Because the Haie's large home arena is booked months in advance for concerts and other events, the club cannot reliably schedule short-notice playoff home games, and as a result Cologne always begins a playoff series with an away game regardless of their regular-season standing. As regular-season champions, the Haie would normally have held home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, but the arrangement effectively inverted that benefit.

„I believe that is a problem. Of course, it would have been different if we had started at home.” — Parker Tuomie via Der Tagesspiegel

In the semi-final series, both teams won their home games through the first five matches, leaving Berlin with a 3:2 lead in wins and Cologne facing a must-win game on home ice — pressure that Tuomie acknowledged weighed on the squad.

„If we start at home, then it's also a different mental thing. That's not my job. But now that the series goes to Berlin, it is of course a topic.” — Parker Tuomie via Der Tagesspiegel

Hildebrand injury adds to Berlin's mounting casualty list Eisbären Berlin and Kölner Haie are both founding members of the DEL, established in 1994. Cologne have won eight championship titles in their history and have not claimed a ninth in 24 years. The Haie managed to defeat the Eisbären in a playoff series only once in seven attempts, doing so in 2016 when Uwe Krupp was Berlin's head coach, according to Der Tagesspiegel.

Hildebrand's absence underlined a broader injury crisis that has hampered Berlin throughout the season. According to N-tv, the 32-year-old American goalkeeper is the fifth Eisbären player ruled out for the season through injury, joining national defenseman Korbinian Geibel and forwards Lean Bergmann, Blaine Byron, and Patrick Khodorenko. Hildebrand had only recently returned from a separate multi-week injury layoff before sustaining the leg injury in game four against Cologne last Wednesday. Kölner Haie coach Kari Jalonen, a former NHL player who joined the club in May 2024, will leave Cologne at the end of this season, according to Der Tagesspiegel. Berlin, meanwhile, advance to face Adler Mannheim, a club that Der Tagesspiegel noted has not won a playoff series against the record champions since 2022.

[{"side1": "Eisbären Berlin", "side2": "Kölner Haie", "score1": 4, "score2": 1, "round": "Semi-final Game 6"}]

24 (years) — Kölner Haie's wait for a ninth DEL title

Eisbären Berlin, Kölner Haie, Adler Mannheim