Eisbären Berlin 3-1 ERC Ingolstadt
02 World
28/12/12
Att: 14,200 (Sell out)
No football? No problem
One of the major problems with heading abroad during the Christmas to New Year period is the football winter breakl. There is an increasing trend of friendlies at the start of the new year, but you'd be very lucky to get a game in between Christmas and New Years. Thankfully whilst in Berlin the local DEL team were in action. This time last year we sampled 3 games in this period and due to how much we enjoyed it I think it's now our preferred choice should there be no football when abroad. One reason for this is that it's like watching a football game in the way that the fans act and approach the game. Having spent the day looking around a few of the many sights in Berlin on a walking tour we got the S-Bahn from Alexandraplatz to Warschauer Strasse, a 5 minute walk from the rink. As with every game we go to I did some prior research to learn more about the fans and history behind the team, in common with most teams in Berlin there is a lot of history behind this one, so I'll do a brief summary.
The Ice hockey team was formed in 1954 as part of SC Dynamo Berlin, who themselves were part of an association with SV Dynamo. SV Dynamo were the club of the East German Police and Secret Service (In order to cover the history of SV Dynamo I'd need to write a separate blog, but there is a wikipedia page should you be interested). 12 years after their formation SC Dynamo were to win their first East German title, but by 1971 the league had been reduced to becoming the smallest in world Ice Hockey. Just two teams competed, SC Dynamo Berlin and SV Dynamo Weisswasser. Berlin would win a total of 15 east German titles and come in third place in the European cup of Champions in 1984.
With German Unification in 1990 the two Dynamo clubs (with SV changing their name to PEV Weisswasser) were reassigned to the 1. Bundesliga. SC Dynamo would change their name to EHC Dynamo Berlin, although on the ice they couldn't compete and were subsequently relegated to 2. Bundesliga. In 1992 they changed their name to the current form and couldn't really establish themselves in the top flight. It was when the DEL was formed for the 1993-94 season they were able to start to become successful. In 1996/97 they reached the play-offs for the first time. This is a rather rushed history but since the 1996/97 season they have only failed to qualify for the play-offs on two occasions.
Their current venue is 02 world, a new facility which opened in 2008. From the outside it is pretty impressive. At one end is a large LED grid which has more than 300,000 LED bulbs. This displays various things, which I thought was quite cool. On the inside, when in configuration for Ice Hockey it has a capacity of 14,200. When inside I thought that the arena was very similar to its namesake in Greenwich on 3 sides. On these three sides the two tiers of seating are split by executive boxes. The final end features a terrace with a couple of rows behind. It was here that the more vocal supporters were housed, complete with flags. When the home team came out they threw lots of white paper in the air which was fairly impressive. I also want to add that even though I don't know the words, the club anthem is one of my favourites. The tune was very catchy. One thing that we noted was the amount of references to their old name, Dynamo. Many fans had scarves and shirts in reference to the old team. At various points through the match they also chanted Dynamo.
The overall opinion of the match was contrast between us. Phil, who has never played the sport, thought it was a really good match. On the other hand I thought it was an average match, the kind that I didn't really enjoy playing with. The match was pretty end to end, yes, but if you looked beyond that there wasn't much else. Neither team were quick enough in the breakaway nor there an apparent lack of willingness in front of the net. If either team had of worked off the puck then the score line would've been greater. The best play of the match came for Berlin's second goal with a quick passing move. The score line was tough somewhat on Ingolstadt and their 150 or so travelling fans. A very commendable turnout.
The Ice hockey team was formed in 1954 as part of SC Dynamo Berlin, who themselves were part of an association with SV Dynamo. SV Dynamo were the club of the East German Police and Secret Service (In order to cover the history of SV Dynamo I'd need to write a separate blog, but there is a wikipedia page should you be interested). 12 years after their formation SC Dynamo were to win their first East German title, but by 1971 the league had been reduced to becoming the smallest in world Ice Hockey. Just two teams competed, SC Dynamo Berlin and SV Dynamo Weisswasser. Berlin would win a total of 15 east German titles and come in third place in the European cup of Champions in 1984.
With German Unification in 1990 the two Dynamo clubs (with SV changing their name to PEV Weisswasser) were reassigned to the 1. Bundesliga. SC Dynamo would change their name to EHC Dynamo Berlin, although on the ice they couldn't compete and were subsequently relegated to 2. Bundesliga. In 1992 they changed their name to the current form and couldn't really establish themselves in the top flight. It was when the DEL was formed for the 1993-94 season they were able to start to become successful. In 1996/97 they reached the play-offs for the first time. This is a rather rushed history but since the 1996/97 season they have only failed to qualify for the play-offs on two occasions.
Their current venue is 02 world, a new facility which opened in 2008. From the outside it is pretty impressive. At one end is a large LED grid which has more than 300,000 LED bulbs. This displays various things, which I thought was quite cool. On the inside, when in configuration for Ice Hockey it has a capacity of 14,200. When inside I thought that the arena was very similar to its namesake in Greenwich on 3 sides. On these three sides the two tiers of seating are split by executive boxes. The final end features a terrace with a couple of rows behind. It was here that the more vocal supporters were housed, complete with flags. When the home team came out they threw lots of white paper in the air which was fairly impressive. I also want to add that even though I don't know the words, the club anthem is one of my favourites. The tune was very catchy. One thing that we noted was the amount of references to their old name, Dynamo. Many fans had scarves and shirts in reference to the old team. At various points through the match they also chanted Dynamo.
The overall opinion of the match was contrast between us. Phil, who has never played the sport, thought it was a really good match. On the other hand I thought it was an average match, the kind that I didn't really enjoy playing with. The match was pretty end to end, yes, but if you looked beyond that there wasn't much else. Neither team were quick enough in the breakaway nor there an apparent lack of willingness in front of the net. If either team had of worked off the puck then the score line would've been greater. The best play of the match came for Berlin's second goal with a quick passing move. The score line was tough somewhat on Ingolstadt and their 150 or so travelling fans. A very commendable turnout.