Ice hockey · National
Munich wins in Berlin on Don Jackson’s return to the bench
Red Bull Munich won 3–2 after a shootout on 23 January, when Berlin honoured its former title-winning coach before his first game back in charge of Munich.
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A familiar coach on the opposite bench
Eisbären Berlin’s home game against Red Bull Munich on 23 January brought together a coaching tribute and a close league contest. Berlin honoured former head coach Don Jackson with a banner before the game, but his visiting Munich team left with a 3–2 shootout victory. Frederik Tiffels put the hosts ahead in the opening period. Max Daubner equalised for Munich while shorthanded in the second, and Yasin Ehliz gave the visitors the lead early in the third. Ty Ronning restored parity for Berlin before overtime. Chris DeSousa eventually converted the decisive shootout attempt. Berlin’s next listed fixture was away to Iserlohn on 26 January. That visit was scheduled to begin at 16:30.
Overtime cannot separate the teams
Munich’s match report records a crowd of 14,022 at the Uber Arena. Tiffels opened the scoring at 18:21, before Daubner’s equaliser at 36:31. Ehliz made it 2–1 at 42:38, and Ronning answered at 48:18. Neither team scored during the five-minute extra period, although Munich’s Taro Hirose struck the crossbar late in overtime. Mathias Niederberger started in goal for the visitors, opposite Jonas Stettmer for Berlin. Both sides incurred six penalty minutes. The sequence left Munich with the extra point from the shootout and Berlin with a point from the regulation draw, rather than a result settled within the first sixty minutes.
Why Jackson had returned
Munich had announced Jackson’s appointment on 22 January, with the veteran taking charge until the end of the season. He replaced Max Kaltenhauser, who had requested a personal pause from the role. Pierre Allard and Patrick Dallaire remained as assistants, while injured captain Ben Smith was also helping the coaching staff. Jackson’s record made the return significant beyond a single game: he had won nine German championships, five with Berlin and four with Munich, more than any other DEL coach. The club credited him with 705 victories from 1,072 DEL games across eighteen years. Since stepping away from the Munich bench after the 2023 title, he had worked in coaching development.
The league setting before the tribute
The teams’ previews placed Berlin second before the meeting and Munich fifth with 62 points. Berlin was six points behind leaders Ingolstadt. Each club had lost its preceding fixture: Munich 4–1 to Düsseldorf and Berlin 4–3 to Bremerhaven. Munich’s preview also recalled its 4–1 win over Berlin in December, so Jackson inherited a matchup his team had recently handled successfully. Berlin’s advance notice emphasised the banner ceremony recognising the five championships achieved during Jackson’s time with the club. The evening thus paired recognition of Berlin’s past with a new short-term assignment in Munich, and the winner was still decided only after regulation and overtime had finished level.
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