Despite the third defeat in a row, the Eisbären Berlin are still at the top of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). On Sunday, the German champions lost 2:3 (0:3, 1:0, 1:0) at second-placed Adler Mannheim despite an improvement in performance after the first break.
Blaine Byron and Matt White scored for the capitals, who again had only three lines of attack to muster as six players were absent due to coronavirus infections or injuries.
The hosts made a powerful start in front of an empty ranks in the Mannheim Arena and took the lead early on with a goal from Thomas Larkin. The Berliners then tried to equalize, but were countered again and again. Nicolas Krämmer and Tim Wohlgemuth were able to increase the advantage of the Kurpfälzer before the first break.
In the second period, too, the polar bears struggled for a long time against Mannheim, who were defending in a concentrated manner, but they took advantage of an opportunity: Byron decisively deflected a long-range shot from Kai Wissmann.
In the final section, the Berliners then increased the pressure again, but they did not manage more than White’s goal 50 seconds before the end of the game.
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