Newcomer Dresdner Eislöwen is saying goodbye to the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) after just one season. The bottom of the table lost 2:7 (0:2, 1:5, 1:0) to leaders Kölner Haie at the restart after the Olympic break and is therefore already relegated seven game days before the end of the main round.
Because the Löwen Frankfurt simultaneously defeated the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven 4:1 (1:0, 2:1, 1:0), the gap to the rescue 13th place has grown to an unassailable 22 points. The probability that Dresden will have to return to the DEL2 is very high. Six second division teams have applied for the DEL license for next season, including the top four in the table, the Krefeld Pinguine, the Kassel Huskies, the Starbulls Rosenheim and the Ravensburg Towerstars.
Tanner Kero (9th and 24th), Ryan MacInnis (18th), Nate Schnarr (25th and 40th), Louis-Marc Aubry (36th) and Patrick Russell (39th) scored the goals for Cologne, who had already qualified for the playoff quarter-finals before the Olympic break. Olympian Moritz Müller recorded two assists.
On Wednesday, the Adler Mannheim moved up to second place in the table despite a home defeat. After the 3:4 (2:1, 0:1, 1:1, 0:1) after extra time against the Augsburg Panthers, the eight-time German champions can no longer be denied a place in the top six.
Defending champions Eisbären Berlin, on the other hand, are not getting going even after the restart. The record champions suffered their fourth defeat in the last five games with 2:3 (1:0, 1:3, 0:0) against the Straubing Tigers. In seventh place, the Berliners with Olympians Frederik Tiffels, Kai Wissmann and Korbinian Geibel are currently only on course for the pre-playoffs. Red Bull Munich moved up to third place after winning 4-0 (0-0, 0-0, 4-0) in the derby against ERC Ingolstadt.
