Mannheimer HC did the German indoor double with shoot-out successes against Düsseldorfer HC and TSV Mannheim on an enthralling finals day in Frankfurt.
The women won first defeating the defending champions from Düsseldorf and denying them a third successive crown.
Dutch star Mabel Brand set up the go-ahead goal just before the end of the first quarter when she assisted Elisa Gräve to give the holders the initial lead.
Brands added a stroke for 2-0 at the half-time break but Mannheim stormed back into contention in the second half. Charlotte Hendrix cut the gap and they were level in the fourth quarter via Fiona Felber.
Parity, though, did not last long as Brands – the league’s top scorer – touched in for 3-2 with 11 minutes left.
MHC kept pushing and they eventually won a corner with the clock almost on zero, winning a corner which Hendrix shot high into the net.
It earned a shoot-out chance which they executed perfectly with Nadine Kanler – the only player remaining from the 2016 MHC winning side – stepping forward to land the vital 3-2 goal.
For the men three hours later, they saw off city rivals TSV after a 5-5 draw in normal time before winning the shoot-out for a third title.
Marius Leser scored, putting his side 1-0 up early on; Paul-Philipp Kaufmann equalised but Mario Schachner made it 2-1 before the end of Q1.
Philip Schlageter equalised at 2-2 for half-time but MHC were back ahead in Q3 with Leser and Nico Reichert doing the damage.
TSV, though, were not shaken off just yet with Lukas Pfaff and Nicolas Proske brought it back level at 5-5 with three minutes to go – Moritz Himmler getting the Mannheim goal.
In the shoot-out, Andreas Rafi shone with a clean sheet, allowing Edgar Leser the chance to win it. His initial shot was blocked but he reacted quickly to slide a shot under the TSV goalkeeper and spark the celebrations.
