After the last three wins in a row, leaders Red Bull Munich surprisingly suffered a defeat in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). Head coach Don Jackson’s team had to admit defeat to the Nuremberg Ice Tigers 3:4 (2:2, 1:0, 0:1, 0:0, 0:1) after a penalty shoot-out in front of 3,837 spectators in the home Olympic ice rink . Second-placed Adler Mannheim, on the other hand, extended their winning streak to six consecutive victories by beating the Schwenningen Wild Wings 4-2 (1-0, 2-1, 1-1).
In a chasing duel, the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven won against the Düsseldorfer EG 4:2 (1:1, 2:1, 1:0) and improved past the strong promoted Löwen Frankfurt to third place in the table.
The Straubing Tigers won the duel between two round of 16 in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg 5:2 (0:0, 2:2, 3:0), for the Lower Saxony it was already the fourth defeat in a row .
The intermediate high of the injury-plagued champions Eisbären Berlin came to an end. After the last three wins, coach Serge Aubin’s team lost 4-2 (2-2, 0-0, 0-2) against the Bietigheim Steelers in front of 9521 spectators and slipped down to 13th place in the table. Daniel Weiß and Benjamin Zientek made the decision with their goals in the final third.
In Munich, in front of 3837 fans, Ryan McKiernan, Christopher Desousa and Austin Ortega met for the title co-favourite. In the meantime, Ryan had turned a 0:1 into a 2:1 for the Franks with his two goals, Dane Fox forced extra time with the 3:3.
In Schwenningen, Mannheim quickly set the course for victory. Borna Rendulic, Luca Tosto and Matthias Plachta ensured a reassuring 3-0 lead. Tylor Sprink reduced the deficit with two goals for the Wild Wings before Plachta made everything clear for the guests.