ERC Ingolstadt’s winning streak in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) has stopped.
Coach Mark French’s team lost the Upper Bavarian derby at Red Bull Munich 0:2 (0:1, 0:0, 0:1) and had to hand over the championship lead to former champions Adler Mannheim. Ingolstadt had previously celebrated eleven league wins in a row and had Mannheim’s DEL record of 15 wins from the 2001/02 season in sight.
In the Munich SAP Garden, which was once again sold out, Jeremy McKenna (8th) and Ville Pokka (60th) scored for the Munich team, who celebrated their seventh home win in a row. As a result of the defeat, Ingolstadt fell to second place with 51 points behind Mannheim (53).
The Eagles won the chasing duel against the Straubing Tigers 4-0 (1-0, 1-0, 2-0), and after six wins from the last seven games, the eight-time champions are back at the top.
Before the encounter, Mannheim had announced the signing of striker Brendan O’Donnell, and the former Düsseldorf player will receive a contract until the end of the season.
The new third are the Kölner Haie (50 points), who achieved their fifth win in a row in front of more than 17,000 fans with a 7:4 (3:0, 3:3, 1:1) against the Nuremberg Ice Tigers. There were also victories for the Eisbären Berlin (5:3 against the Iserlohn Roosters), Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven (6:2 at the Schwenninger Wild Wings) and Grizzlys Wolfsburg (4:1 against the Löwen Frankfurt).