The Kölner Haie suffered their second home defeat in a row against efficient Wolfsburg and lost touch with the top group.
The KEC had to admit defeat against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg 1:5 (0:2, 1:1, 0:2) on Tuesday evening. After the 2:3 defeat against Straubing on Friday, it was the second home defeat in a row.
Wolfsburg cleverer in the first third
Both teams started defensively securely and did not allow their opponents any great chances in the early stages. After ten minutes, the guests took advantage of Cologne’s initial lack of attention. Nicholas Bailen was actually already on his way to make the substitution, but then saw Jean-Christophe Beaudin running freely towards KEC keeper Mirko Pantkowski. The Cologne defender came too late and Beaudin hit the near corner for a 1-0 lead.
Wolfsburg also played cleverly afterwards without dominating. The guests managed to gain the upper hand in the neutral zone and thus prevented Cologne from advancing into their own third. Ex-Shark Lucas Dumont made it 2-0 for Wolfsburg shortly after taking the lead. The 26-year-old, who played 212 DEL games for the KEC, appeared completely free in front of Pantkowski and deflected a shot from the next former Cologne player Björn Krupp (14th).
Cologne sharks are becoming more dangerous
Wolfsburg also took advantage of a Cologne mistake early on in the second third. Maximilian Glötzl lost the puck in his own third, clearing the way for Wolfsburg to counterattack. Pantkowski parried a shot from Matt White, but the 25-year-old goalie was powerless against Ryan O’Connor’s follow-up shot (24th).
This time, however, the sharks’ reaction didn’t take long to arrive. Cologne took advantage of the first power play of the game. Gregor MacLeod shot directly after a face-off and pass from Bailen, the disc slipped through the legs of another ex-Cologne player Hannibal Weitzmann and into the goal (25th).
KEC stays behind Connection hit dangerous
Cologne stayed on the trigger and almost doubled down in the next power play. Weitzmann first got his pad behind the puck against a shot from Maxi Kammerer and then from Moritz Müller (30th). And even in equal numbers, the KEC presented themselves significantly more dangerous in the second third.
Weitzmann made a double save against Louis-Marc Aubry and prevented the subsequent follow-up shot from Kammerer. Shortly before the end of the period, the Grizzyls almost used their first power play. Justin Feser hit the crossbar (36′).
Wolfsburg impresses with its efficiency
At the beginning of the final third, the Haie tried a lot and fired numerous shots. The shortcoming remained the exploitation of opportunities. After a shot from Aubry, the aluminum saved the visitors (46th).
Shortly afterwards, the Grizzlys once again confirmed their efficiency that evening. White took advantage of a misunderstanding between Justin Schütz and Kammerer and put the puck across to the free-standing Andy Miele, who pushed the puck into the goal to make it 4-1 (47′). A little later, Chris Wilkie made it 5-1 (51st). The Cologne Sharks didn’t give up, Schütz (53′) and Olver (54′) missed good chances and were each denied by the strong keeper Weitzmann.
Cologne on Friday in Iserlohn, Sunday against DEG
Wolfsburg secured an unchallenged away win over time and impressed with a strong shooting efficiency of over 15 percent (five goals from 32 shots on goal). For the Sharks, this figure was 2.5 percent (one goal per 40 shots).
In the table, Wolfsburg overtakes the Sharks and jumps to fifth place. Cologne has lost touch with the top group for the time being and is eighth. The KEC continues on Friday (7:30 p.m.) against bottom team Iserlohn Roosters. Two days later, the Düsseldorfer EG (Sunday, 2 p.m.) awaits the Kölner Haie in the derby
