Coach Uwe Krupp from the Kölner Haien showed himself combative after the turbulent 3:4 defeat in the playoff quarterfinals of the German Ice Hockey League at the Adler Mannheim. With a series of victories of 2:2, the Haie were on the verge of their third success.

The Haie were already 3-0 up and 3-2 up to half a minute before the end, before Mannheim finally won within 13 seconds with a double from national team players David Wolf and Nicolas Krämmer.

"We're looking ahead. It's our turn on Sunday," said former national coach Krupp before the sixth quarter-final game on Sunday (2 p.m.). So far, however, Cologne have lost their two home games against the Adler, who now only need one win to reach the semi-finals. Four wins are necessary to progress in the best-of-seven series of the DEL playoffs.

Emotional catch-up

"It's funny how an ice hockey game sometimes goes," commented Mannheim's coach Bill Stewart on his team's emotional race to catch up. Adler striker Wolf now expects his team to have a mental advantage. "It's definitely a bitter pill to swallow," said the 2018 Olympic silver medalist on the internet sports channel MagentaSport, referring to the sharks.

On Sunday, EHC Red Bull Munich and the Straubing Tigers can also follow ERC Ingolstadt into the semi-finals. Munich plays in Bremerhaven with the Fischtown Pinguins (3.15 p.m.) and Straubing with the Grizzlys Wolfsburg (7 p.m. / all MagentaSport).

Ingolstadt had made the semi-finals perfect prematurely with a crazy catch-up race against the Düsseldorfer EG. After beating DEG 2:5 and 3:6, the ERC fought its way into overtime in the final third, where Stefan Matteau secured the fourth win.