The Eisbären Berlin celebrated their first win of the season in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
On Sunday afternoon, the German champions won against newly promoted Löwen Frankfurt 5: 4 (2: 0, 2: 0, 0: 4, 1: 0) after extra time. Kevin Clark, Frank Mauer, Zach Boychuk, Giovanni Fiore and Julian Melchiori scored for the capital city, who had to settle for two points after a 4-0 lead.
Frankfurt punishes Berlin’s negligence
In front of 10,230 spectators in the arena at the Ostbahnhof, the hosts were solid on the defensive from the start and consistently used their chances to score: Clark scored immediately after the end of the first Berlin power play, Mauer increased just before the first break. In the second third, the polar bears increased their game and extended their lead with goals from Boychuk and Fiore.
It was only in the final section that polar bear goalie Juho Markkanen had to admit defeat on his DEL debut. Because the Berliners were now negligent, Magnus Eisenmenger and Dylan Wruck brought the Frankfurters back up, and in the closing seconds of regular time, Brett Breitkreuz even equalized with two goals.
Ultimately, however, the hosts left the ice as winners because Melchiori scored the decisive goal in extra time.