The German Cup at the Olympic Ice Stadium

International ice hockey: a first-class sporting event! The puck may be small, but the excitement will be huge at the German Cup between 9 and 11 November at the Olympic Ice Stadium! For the past three years, spectators in Munich have had the chance to experience world-class ice hockey from top international teams, up close. Germany won the Cup in 2009 and 2010, and were runner-ups in 2011. The tournament will include a début this year, as new national coach Pat Cortina takes charge of the young German team for the first time at the German Cup. He'll be in familiar territory though, with the games being held right in his “backyard” at the Olympic Ice Stadium! “We've often seen dramatic games with amazing fan choreography here already,” said Arno Hartung, Deputy Olympic Park Director, looking forward to the international matches held at Munich's most renowned ice hockey venue. After being held in the Olympic Hall for three years, the German Cup is moving to the Olympic Ice Sport Centre for 2012-13, where it also took place in 1997. The reason for changing the venue to the current home of the EHC Red Bull München ice hockey club is the need for renovations to the rinks in the Olympic Hall, which were placed under further strain by the 2011 tournament. The rinks are scheduled to be entirely renovated by 2013 so that the Olympic Hall can once again offer teams top-quality ice and the very best conditions in time for the 2014 German Cup. Challenging matches will include Olympic champions Canada, world champion runner-ups Slovakia, and Switzerland. But the German team will come out fighting and put everything on the line for a win against the other top teams. One thing is certain: Fans can catch three days of authentic ice hockey action and thrilling matches – hopefully with plenty of goals – at the Olympic Ice Sport Centre. A single ticket for each day gives you admission to two international matches! Match schedule Fri., 09/11/2012, SUI– SVK, 4 p.m. / GER - CAN, 7:45 p.m. Sat., 10/11/2012, GER – SUI, 4:15 p.m. / SVK - CAN, 7:45 p.m. Sun., 11/11/2012, SUI – CAN, 1 p.m. / SVK - GER, 4:45 p.m. Tickets Regular ticket prices for the German Cup start at €20 for a day ticket and €50 for a three-day ticket. Admission for children up to 14 years starts at €10 per day. Groups, clubs and fan clubs receive two additional free tickets with a purchase of 20 tickets per match day or three-day tickets, as well as a further free ticket for every 10 additional tickets purchased. Reduced-price tickets starting at €14 are available to the severely disabled, pupils, trainees, students, those completing civil or military service and pensioners, upon presentation of the relevant identification. Prices include VAT and all fees, shipping additional where applicable, tickets available from München Ticket GmbH, Tel. 0180/ 54 81 81 81 (€0.14/min from German landlines, mobiles max.€0.42/min), Fax 089/ 54 81 81 54, www.muenchenticket.de, also available from the information pavilion at the Olympic Ice Sport Centre, Glass hall at the Gasteig, City Hall information office on Marienplatz, tourism office at the central railway station and advance booking offices affiliated with München Ticket. Further information is available at: www.olympiapark.de and www.deb-online.de A quick glance at 40 years of ice hockey in the Olympic Park The Olympic Park has always been a good address when it comes to ice hockey. Olympic Hall hosted the world championships in 1975, 1983 and 1993. The German Cup was held in the Olympic Ice Sport Centre in 1997, and in the Olympic Hall from 2009 through 2011. Munich's ice hockey fans watched sold-out international matches at the Olympic Ice Stadium in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Munich club hockey spectators also took in legendary matches in both Olympic Halls. At the end of 2011, EHC München (Munich Ice Hockey Club) celebrated the success of the “Volle Halle” (Full Hall) campaign in front of 11,000 fans in the Olympic Hall. It all began even before the Olympic Games, with the Olympic Ice Stadium opening in 1967 with a match between FC Bayern and SC Riessersee. During the 1970s, the EHC 70 ice hockey club worked its way up into the Bundesliga here. The most successful teams to play at the Olympic Ice Stadium so far have been EC Hedos and the Munich Barons, winning German championships in 1994 and 2000. After EHC München worked its way up over eight years from the Bayernliga (Bavarian league) to the DEL (German Ice Hockey League) in 2010, all of Munich's ice hockey hopes now rest on main sponsor Red Bull, who came on board in 2012. Fans are now hoping for a stable and successful future for ice hockey in Munich with the EHC Red Bull München team.