The Iserlohn Roosters made a strong comeback on Friday evening. Despite a 0-3 deficit, they defeated bottom team Dresden 5-4 (0-3, 1-0, 4-1).
The basement duel with the Ice Lions offered the Roosters a great opportunity to extend their lead over the bottom team in the table. The Sauerlanders had already won their first two games against Dresden – at home after extra time 4:3 and away even 6:1.
Bottom team Iserlohn surprises with a strong opening third
The fans were correspondingly disillusioned when the score against their team was 3-0 after the first 20 minutes. Trevor Parkes took the lead on the first power play of the game after less than ten seconds (6th minute), and Emil Johansson and Austin Ortega increased the lead to 3-0 with a double strike in the 13th minute.
The Iserlohn team opened the middle third again with a penalty, but this time it had no consequences. The guests then brought the Roosters back into the game within four minutes with three of their own penalties and were lucky that Tyler Boland only punished the first indiscipline with a powerful slap shot (30th).
Boland misses a great chance to make it 2:3
In the second power play, the Canadian should have made it 2-3, but the puck slipped over his stick in front of the goal – although it was completely free-standing and unpressured. The Iserlohn team went into the final third with a two-goal deficit.
In the 43rd minute, the home team missed their next big chance to score, but this was also due to the Dresden keeper Juho Olkinuora, who quickly closed the right corner of the goal after the cross pass to Taro Jentzsch. The Eislöwen played too passively as the final third progressed, which Iserlohn finally acknowledged with a 2-3 lead in the 48th minute.
Iserlohn misplaced the puck after equalizing and conceded the score 3:4
Once again it was Boland who didn’t fire the slap shot himself this time, but instead held his bat in the path of the shot. He deflected Colin Ugbekile’s shot from the blue line unstoppable. In the 51st minute, the Iserlohn team was able to thank their goalie Andreas Jenike for keeping the deficit close. He made a brilliant save against Emil Johansson, who was released in front of the goal.
The Iserlohn team continued to push for the equalizer and were rewarded by Henrik Törnqvist. He surprised Olkinuora in the short corner with a hidden shot from the face-off circle (54′). The Dresden team were too often too far away from their opponents. Nevertheless, they were able to enjoy another lead when the Iserlohn team wasted the puck in their own third and Ortega scored to make it 4-3 (55th).
Fischbuch and Thomas still make Roosters cheer
The fact that the joy about this only lasted for a short time was due to the fact that the Iserlohn team now consistently exploited their freedom in the attacking third. First Daniel Fischbuch equalized again (57th) and shortly afterwards – this time the Dresden team made a mistake by losing the puck behind their own goal – Christian Thomas sent the Roosters fans into ecstasy after a pass from Anthony Camara (58th).
That was the end of a spectacular final third. With the victory, the Iserlohn team increased their lead over the bottom team in the DEL’s only relegation spot to ten points. Things continue for Iserlohn on Sunday – with an away game against top club ERC Ingolstadt.
Our sources:
- German Ice Hockey League: Iserlohn Roosters – Dresdner Eislöwen on the streaming service Magenta Sport on December 12th, 2025
Broadcast: “Iserlohn turns cellar duel against Dresden,” WDR.de, December 12, 2025, 10:21 p.m
