Eisbären Berlin Defeat Kölner Haie 6-3 in DEL Semifinal Game 1

In the first game of the DEL semifinals, Eisbären Berlin triumphed over Kölner Haie (KEC) with a 6-3 victory on Wednesday in Berlin. This marked Kölner Haie's first playoff loss after they had swept the Schwenninger Wild Wings 4-0 in the quarterfinals.

Berlin established an early lead with goals from Adam Smith at the 5th minute and Moritz Kretzschmar two minutes later. Valterri Kemiläinen responded for KEC with a power-play goal at 9 minutes, but Berlin quickly regained control through Marcel Noebels and Jonas Müller, who scored within 66 seconds to bring the score to 4-1.

Patrick Russel scored for KEC in the second period; however, Kretzschmar netted his second goal shortly after, extending Berlin's lead. In goal, KEC replaced Janne Juvonen with Felix Brückmann in the third period to shore up their defense. Despite more shots on goal, KEC struggled offensively for the remainder of the match. In the final moments, with Brückmann pulled for an extra attacker, Les Lancaster scored an empty-net goal, sealing the 6-2 scoreline before Gregor MacLeod added a late goal for KEC, concluding the game at 6-3.

The next semifinal game is set for Friday evening in Cologne, offering the Haie a chance to respond on home ice.