6:3, How the Red Bulls Trapped the Penguins at SAP Garden

If you think hockey is just about sticks and collisions, you should have been with me at the SAP Garden last night. Friday’s clash between Red Bull Munich and the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven wasn’t just a match; it was a full sporting drama with a perfect, heartwarming ending.

The Calm Before the Storm The evening started with that familiar, heavy anticipation. The Munich fans, loud and loyal as ever, built their famous wall of sound, but on the ice, things were tight. For two periods, it was a gridlock. By the time we hit the final stretch, the scoreboard read 3-3, and you could feel the tension in the stands. Every pass felt heavy; every mistake could have been fatal.

The Turning Point: A High-Stakes Gamble Then came the moment that changed everything. From my seat, I watched Bremerhaven make a dangerous gamble. Desperate to avoid overtime and hungry for a win, the Penguins pushed their defensive line high. They wanted to steal the game, but they forgot one crucial detail: Red Bull Munich is the master of punishing open ice.

That aggressive push left their backdoor wide open. Suddenly, the game shifted gears. The Red Bulls—led by a sharp performance from the likes of Ryan Murphy and Yasin Ehliz—turned into snipers. They exploited the gaps mercilessly, slotting in three rapid-fire goals. The stadium absolutely erupted. In the blink of an eye, a nail-biting tie turned into a commanding 6-3 victory, vaulting Munich into that coveted third place in the DEL standings.

The Real MVP of the Night But if you ask me, the most beautiful goal of the night didn’t count toward the league stats.

After the final buzzer, when the adrenaline faded into smiles, the team brought out their families—a lovely Munich tradition. Amidst the chaos, I spotted a player in civilian clothes—likely Adam Brooks, who has been out with an injury recently—watching from the sidelines.

Then, a tiny figure emerged. His child, barely half the size of a hockey stick, grabbed his dad’s gear with a confidence that seemed genetic. He skated toward the goal, stick in hand, and buried the puck in the net! The cheer that erupted from the remaining fans was perhaps louder than for the sixth goal of the actual game.

It was a funny, touching reminder of why we love this sport. It’s about the intensity, yes, but also about the community and the heroes who are, first and foremost, dads.