In the fight for a ticket for the play-off quarter-finals of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), ERC Ingolstadt suffered a surprising setback.
The second in the table lost 4:5 (1:0, 2:1, 1:3, 0:1) to the Augsburg Panthers after extra time.
However, Ingolstadt was able to get over the defeat because the pursuer Adler Mannheim also made a mistake: The Kurpfälzer lost 2:3 (1:2, 1:1, 0:0) at the Löwen Frankfurt and remain in third place behind the ERC. Davis Vandane (36th) scored the winning goal for Frankfurt.
Fourth are the Straubing Tigers after an 8:1 (1:0, 4:1, 3:0) at the Iserlohn Roosters without a chance. The Wolfsburg Grizzlys, currently in sixth place, defeated the defending champions Eisbären Berlin 1-0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0), who hardly have any chances of making the play-offs.
Second defeat in a row for the Kölner Haie
The Kölner Haie conceded the second defeat in a row. At table neighbors Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven, the KEC lost 2:5 (0:0, 2:2, 0:3) after leading twice and had to let the hosts pass them in the ranking. The Haie are now eighth directly behind the North Germans.
The Nuremberg Ice Tigers also went off the ice as losers in a long, tight home game against Red Bull Munich. After three wins in a row, the ninth-placed player from Franconia lost 6-3 (0-2, 2-1, 1-3) to the front-runners.
Ingolstadt lost a two-goal lead in the final third. Terry Broadhurst’s goal in extra time sealed the ERC’s first defeat in their fourth game of the season with the Panthers. Augsburg remains penultimate and must hope that the Kassel Huskies, Krefeld Pinguine and Dresdner Eislöwen, who are eligible for promotion, do not become second division champions.