Frankfurt achieved an important home win against Dresden because it gave the Lions some breathing room in the DEL relegation battle. There was also a celebration at the end of the year in Kassel.
The Lions Frankfurt are breathing a sigh of relief in the DEL’s relegation battle, because on Tuesday evening they beat the bottom of the league as second to last in the table. The home team won 3-0 in front of 6,990 spectators in their own hall against the Dresden Ice Lions.
The game was not only special because of the table situation, but also because it was the reunion in Frankfurt with Jussi Olkinuora. The goalie was still under contract with the Lions until the summer, but after a dispute with the Hessians about his healthboth sides agreed to dissolve the working papers.
Frankfurt takes the lead early
However, Olkinuora only watched the entire game from the Dresden bench and had to watch as his goalkeeper colleague Janick Schwendener conceded the first goal in the 13th minute of the game. Canadian Ty Glover scored for Frankfurt in the power play.
After the home team were the more active team in the first half of the game, the encounter became more even in the second third. But the Lions once again knew how to use their superiority to their advantage and took a 2-0 lead thanks to striker Carter Rowney’s second goal of the season (32nd minute). Seven minutes later, his teammate Michael Joyaux extended the Hessians’ lead.
Lions score important points
In the final third, the Lions concentrated more on defense and gave the guests more space on the ice. However, Dresden was unable to use this to score a goal. Because Frankfurt also missed promising counterattack opportunities, the score remained 3-0 until the final siren.
Players and fans celebrated an important home win afterward, as the win against Dresden gave the Lions a bigger cushion in the relegation battle. The distance to last place and the only relegation place the DEL is now 13 points.
Kassel wins, but doesn’t thank Bad Nauheim
One league lower, the Kassel Huskies have also lived up to their role as favorites. In the home game against the Eispiren Crimmitschau, the North Hesse team narrowly won 3-1. Jake Weidner (35th) and Tyler Benson (38th/60th) scored twice for Kassel.
Despite the win, the Huskies finished second in the DEL2 table but no ground on the league leaders from Krefeld because the penguins were able to beat EC Bad Nauheim 5-1 at the same time. Simon Gnyp scored the consolation goal for the Wetterauers 14 seconds before the end.
