Thursday, 01. October 2026 |
DEL Preview, Matchday 5: EHC Red Bull München Visits the Kölner Haie
Our Form
On the second weekend of the DEL season, it was champagne and seltzer for our guys. We started with a 4-1 win in Bremerhaven, but we weren’t able to build on that success in our next home game. We suffered a 1-4 loss to Frankfurt at the SAP Garden. Still, our team had some good chances.
“Despite spending a lot of time on the power play, we didn’t score a single power-play goal. That probably would have won us the game,” said captain Patrick Hager. Instead, Frankfurt scored on the power play and took three points back from the SAP Garden. Hager assures us: “We know what went wrong, and we’re not going to let it get to us.” The game has been analyzed, put behind us, and our focus is now on the away game at the LANXESS Arena.
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Photos from the first matchday of the Wiesn against Frankfurt
The Opponent
The Kölner Haie have also earned six points over the first four game days—and put on quite a show in the process. The team, led by new head coach Thomas Berglund, has scored 19 goals so far, though the Swede is likely less pleased with the 21 goals they’ve conceded.
Berglund, however, knows how to build successful teams. He proved that over the past nine seasons as head coach of Luleå HF. His greatest achievement: the 2025–26 Swedish championship. Last season, he also reached the Champions League final. He has also been named Coach of the Year in Sweden three times.
In his first stint outside his home country, he can work with a roster that was further strengthened after winning the regular-season championship. Among others, Marcel Noebels joined from Berlin. The longtime Eisbären playmaker is the most notable new addition to the Haie so far. Daniel Fischbuch (Iserlohn) has also gotten off to a good start. Players like Patrick Russell, Frederik Storm, and Juhani Tyrväinen remain on the roster. This means there’s plenty of experience on the offensive end as well.
Defensively, things aren’t quite running as smoothly as last season, but there’s still plenty of quality there: Janne Juvonen, the reigning DEL Goaltender of the Year, is in the lineup. In front of him, experienced defensemen like Moritz Müller are clearing the way. With four goals, Valtteri Kemiläinen is the most prolific scoring defenseman in the DEL this season. Among the new additions is Swedish player Robin Press, who has been a consistent scorer in the KHL in recent years.
The Showdown
When two strong teams face off, the special teams often tip the scales. Cologne boasts by far the best power play of the current DEL season. Their success rate stands at 66.7 percent—the Sharks have capitalized on six out of nine power-play opportunities so far.
However, their penalty killing is a weak spot; with a success rate of 61.5 percent, Cologne ranks last in the league. So while things are going well on offense so far, the Cologne team remains vulnerable when shorthanded.
Highlights: Kölner Haie vs. EHC Red Bull München (November 2, 2025)
// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS
The Red Bulls still have room for improvement, especially on the power play (success rate: 13.3 percent). While Hager and Jeremy McKenna both scored on Friday, those two goals against Bremerhaven are their only ones so far. The game in Cologne would be a good opportunity for their third power-play goal of the season.
“Before the Frankfurt game, we had a penalty kill success rate of nearly 90 percent and a power-play success rate of 22 percent. Those are good numbers,” said Hager. Against Frankfurt, however, the power play failed to score despite spending a lot of time on the power play. Against Cologne, our guys want to get more pucks on goal again to keep the pressure high.
Player in Focus
Noebels stands out for Cologne. The serial champion with the Eisbären Berlin is reinventing himself: Five goals in four games are unusual for the playmaker, who has otherwise tended to shine as a set-up man. With seven points, Noebels is Cologne’s most dangerous offensive player so far.
For our team, Hager is a key factor—not only as captain, but especially in crucial games as a leader who sets the tone. Hager knows Cologne and the LANXESS Arena well: Between 2015 and 2017, he played for the Haie. During that time, he racked up an impressive 106 points in 116 games.
There’s another special connection to the first championship title of his career: In 2014, Hager and the ERC Ingolstadt prevailed over the Kölner Haie in the finals. The series was decided in Game 7 in Cologne. Hager scored in that game.
Facts and Figures
Both teams have six points after four game days. Cologne has a goal differential of 19–21, while Munich stands at 12–12. The Haie come out of the locker room strong and have been the team to beat in the first period so far (goal differential: +4). Our best period is the second (+5).
In DEL history, the Red Bulls lead with 45 wins in 69 matchups against Cologne. Last season, Munich won three of the four meetings—including both road games. In the 2024–25 season, Cologne won three times. The games were often close: no more than two goals separated the two teams in any of the matches, and on five occasions, the margin was just one goal.
Match Day Info
The game at the LANXESS Arena begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The arena can seat up to 18,600 spectators—and was sold out for both games against us last season.
As usual, you can follow the game live on our blog. Video coverage is available on MagentaSport, as it is for all PENNY DEL games.
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