The unworthy end of a great career

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“If the hockey god sees it, he won’t let him end his great career like this,” sports director Andrew Ebbett told Biel on Sunday evening before the sixth quarterfinal of the playoffs.

The hockey god didn’t have that understanding. He didn’t want to wait until Tuesday and a Game 7 against Biel. Beat Gerber may have been fit enough to intervene again.

And so ended the 40-year-old’s creative period after 20 years as a player at SC Bern instead of sweating on the ice, injured in civilian clothes in the stands. It was over with the last second goal by Mike Künzle from Biel. After 1270 games in the premier league, six national titles, two cup wins, 89 international matches and five World Cup tournaments. An unworthy end for such an honors list.

He made others shine

On the other hand, this quiet turn goes well with «Bidu», as everyone in Bern calls it. Being in the spotlight was never his thing. He was not a man of great words, but of great deeds. Like a defensive back that held up its bones for others to shine. Always put 100 percent at the service of the team. They’ve become rare, the down-to-earth types made of this stuff.

Of course, the SCB fans’ standing ramp didn’t just let him go through the back exit, but unrolled banners of gratitude and chanted his name—until he stood on the ice and waved to them one last time. “It shows I didn’t do everything wrong and it’s very emotional,” he told the Mysports camera afterwards. You couldn’t really look at him. With big emotions, “Bidu” is similar to big words: not his thing.

The chimpanzee continues to puff

Gerber grew up in Oberlangenegg BE, which lies between Thun and Langnau. For the EHC Oberlangenegg, he put on his skates for the first time as a child before continuing with the Langnau juniors. He made his debut in what was then the NLA when he was 17, and in 2003 he switched to SCB. It became a mutual love. A love that continues even after the end of his career – the character head stays with his SCB as a material manager. The chimpanzee continues to puff.

Source : Blick