The Kölner Haie continue to rush from victory to victory in the German Ice Hockey League.
In front of 18,600 spectators in the sold-out Cologne Arena, the Haie beat the Pinguins Bremerhaven 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) in the top game on Friday and at least temporarily took over the league lead from the Adler Mannheim. Bremerhaven, 18 points behind the Haie, slipped to seventh place.
Since the international break in mid-November, Cologne has won 13 of 15 games and scored points in every game. For Bremerhaven, however, it was the third defeat from the last four games.
Penguins with a better start
The guests started the game better and had the first goal through Nino Kinder (2nd), who narrowly missed the Cologne goal with a shot from the turn. Cologne survived the first outnumbered game after a penalty against Valtteri Kemiläinen unscathed, Bremerhaven barely found a gap in the Haie defense. When Jan Urbas (6th) tried from a central position, Cologne keeper Janne Juvonen was there.
The Penguins continued to be the more active team. When Cologne was again outnumbered, Juvonen fended off shots from Urbas (9th) and Miha Verlic (9th) and also remained the winner against Ziga Jeglic (11th). In the 12th minute, Cologne fired its first notable shot through Frederik Storm, who didn’t cause any problems for Bremerhaven’s goalkeeper Leon Hungerecker. Afterwards, Cologne was a bit lucky that Bremerhaven didn’t finish a 3-on-1 counterattack cleanly.
In their first power play, the Haie put pressure on, but both Kemiläinen (14th) at the far post and Patrick Russell (15th) with a double chance were denied by Hungerecker. The rushing Storm (16th) also lost out in a direct duel with Hungerecker. When it came to shots on goal, the Penguins had a clear lead of 15:5 after the first period.
Cologne takes the lead when they are outnumbered
In the middle period, a hidden attempt by Tanner Kero (22nd) slipped just past the Penguins’ goal when he held his stick to a pass from Veli-Matti Vittasmäki. On the other side, Juvonen (23rd) confidently parried two attempts from the outside positions. In their second power play, the Haie attacked Hungerecker’s goal, Ryan MacInnis (26th) failed with a direct shot off the crossbar. During a counterattack, Urbas (26th), who had just come from the penalty box, appeared free in front of Juvonen, who fended off the slap shot with a lightning reflex.
Bremerhaven then had the majority again after a penalty against Cologne’s Dominik Uher – and lost a target in the build-up. Abt lost the puck on the blue line to Maximilian Kammerer (28th), who ran towards Hungerecker alone, overcame the keeper with a tunnel and made it 1-0 for the outnumbered Sharks.
With the lead behind them, Cologne radiated more security. In the following power play, Russell (31′) from the slot and Kammerer (33′) had opportunities to extend the home team’s lead with a rebound. Even the fourth advantage situation shortly before the end of the period could not be used by Cologne to score another goal.
Sharks bring victory over time
In the final third, after a remarkable combination via MacInnis and a cross pass from Dominikk Bokk, Hungerecker prevented Louis-Marc Aubry (43′), who was ready at the second post, from making it 0-2. Hungerecker was also there with the schooner against MacInnis (46th) from close range.
Defensively, Cologne was good and hardly allowed anything to happen, and there was little to be seen of the Penguins offense. After a pass from Russell, Kammerer (51′) missed another great chance for Cologne with a direct pass. During a power play by Bremerhaven things got tricky again in front of the Haie goal, but Cologne had everything under control again. When the Penguins took their goalkeeper off the ice in favor of a field player two minutes before the end of the game, Aubry (59th) and Russell (60th) made the decision with their hits into the empty net.
Cologne now against Schwenningen
The Haie’s next home game is on Sunday (December 28th/4:30 p.m.) when the Schwenninger Wild Wings are guests. Bremerhaven welcomes the Lions Frankfurt at the same time.
Our sources:
- Game between Cologne and Bremerhaven on December 26th, 2025
- MagentaSport
- DEL website
Broadcast: “Sharks temporarily move to the top of the table,” WDR.de, December 26, 2025, 4:26 p.m
