The eight-time German champion Adler Mannheim has lost again in the fight for second place in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) after four wins in a row.
The Eagles lost 2:3 (0:1, 1:1, 1:0, 0:1) in extra time to the Düsseldorfer EG and remain third behind the sovereign table leaders EHC Munich and ERC Ingolstadt.
Philip Gogulla (18′) and Stephen MacAulay (37′) put DEG ahead twice, but Markus Eisenschmid (23′) and Matthew Donovan (43′) equalized for Mannheim, MacAulay (63′) scored the decisive goal in the extension.
EHC Munich defeated the bottom team, the Bietigheim Steelers, 6-1 (3-0, 1-1, 2-0) and are now 15 points ahead of Adler Mannheim.
Eisbären Berlin end away weakness
The Eisbären Berlin gained some air in the relegation battle. The champions won 2-0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0) at the Nuremberg Ice Tigers. The goals from Leo Pföderl and Yannick Veilleux ensured the success of the capital city, who had previously lost five away games in a row. Since goalie Tobias Ancicka didn’t concede a goal, he was able to celebrate his first shutout of the current season.
In front of 7,117 spectators in the Nuremberg Arena, the guests started enthusiastically and determined the first third, but had few clear chances. In the middle third, the Franconians became more offensive, but Berlin scored the first goal through Pföderl. After the polar bears had survived a double manpower situation, they were able to extend their lead ten seconds before the end of the period with a powerplay goal from Veilleux.
Sharks win at the FC stadium
On Sunday evening, the Kölner Haie won their third outdoor game of the season 5:2 (0:0, 2:1, 3:1) against the second from bottom Augsburger Panther. Maximilian Kammerer (37th and 38th minute), Luca Sennhenn (49th), Nicholas Baptiste (59th) and Alexander Roach (60th) scored the goals for coach Uwe’s team in front of 14,915 fans in the football stadium of 1. FC Köln Krupp, who is still fighting for a good starting position for the playoffs. David Stieler (35th/43rd) was successful for Augsburg.
In December, the Kölner Haie had already played the winter game against the Adler Mannheim (4:2) and the duel against the Pinguins Bremerhaven (1:2) in the Bundesliga soccer team’s stadium.